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STUDIES  IN  HISTORY,  ECONOMICS  AND  PUBLIC  LAW 

EDITED   BY  THE    FACULTY   OF   POLITICAL  SCIENCE 
OF  COLUMBIA    UNIVERSITY 


Volume  LXXIV] 


[Number  3 


Whole  Number  176 


COLLECTIVE  BARGAINING  IN  THE 
LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY 


BY 


/  H.  E.  HOAGLAND,  Ph.D. 

Instructor  in  Economics,  University  of  Illinois 


'^m  i)orlx 
COLUMBIA    UNIVERSITY 

LONGMANS,  GREEN  &  CO.,  AGENTS 

London  :  P.  S,  King  &  Son,  Ltd. 

1917 


Copyright,  1917 

BY 

H.  E.  HOAGLAND 


(j>S\5 


PREFACE 

Although  the  motion- picture  poster,  the  label  on 
canned  foods,  the  office  calendar,  the  illustrated  post-card, 
and  the  numerous  other  products  of  lithography  are  not 
new  to  the  readers  of  this  monograph,  it  is  improbable 
that  many  of  such  readers  should  be  familiar  with  the 
process  by  which  these  articles  of  common  use  are  made. 
Much  less  to  be  expected  is  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
labor  problems  of  the  industry.  This  study  attempts  to 
trace  the  history  of  collective  bargaining  in  the  litho- 
graphic industry.  It  is  the  hope  of  the  writer  that  the 
facts  themselves,  as  herein  related,  will  interest  the  stu- 
dent of  labor  problems ;  but  it  is  also  his  hope  that  in 
chronicling  these  facts,  he  may  make  some  contribution 
to  a  better  understanding  of  the  principles  of  wage  bar- 
gaining. 

To  be  sure,  the  entire  lithographic  industry  of  the 
United  States  employs  a  smaller  number  of  men  than 
does  a  single  corporation  in  the  steel  industry,  for  ex- 
ample. For  this  reason,  it  may  be  objected  that  the 
lithographic  industry  has  labor  problems  peculiar  to  it- 
self. This  is  admitted.  Every  industry  has  labor  prob- 
lems peculiar  to  itself.  Yet  there  are  common  to  them 
all  the  basic  principles  of  wage  bargaining.  It  is  only  by 
knowing  intimately  the  methods  used  by  employers  and 
employees  in  many  industries  that  we  can  determine 
these  general  principles  which  form  the  basis  of  the  labor 
contract. 

As  far  as  possible,  facts   are  permitted  to  speak  for 

themselves.     At  no  point  in  the  study  is  it  the  purpose 

of  the  writer  to  pass  judgment  upon   the  intentions  of 

either  employees  or  employers.     Instead,  an  attempt  is 

421]  5 


6  PREFACE  [422 

made  in  every  case  to  interpret  these  intentions  fairly 
and  impartially.  Whenever  i^encral  conclusions  are 
either  stated  or  implied,  they  are  meant  to  be  tentative 
only,  to  be  verified  later  when  more  than  one  industry 
can  be  considered  at  the  same  time. 

This  study  is  one  of  a  series  of  investigations  of  wage 
bargaining  which  the  writer  made  for  the  United  States 
Commission  on  Industrial  Relations.  Most  of  the  infor- 
mation contained  herein  was  collected  at  that  time, 
although  some  supplementary  investfgation  has  been  made 
since.  Because  of  the  nature  of  the  subject,  care  has  been 
taken  to  quote  rather  fully  the  evidence  presented. 
Wherever  specific  authority  is  not  cited  in  support  of 
the  statements  made,  it  is  because  such  statements  are 
based  upon  the  verbal  testimony  of  interested  parties  in 
the  industry,  in  which  case  all  possible  means  have  been 
taken  to  verify  such  testimony,  or  upon  information  ob- 
tained from  sources,  such  as  personal  letter  files,  to 
which  no  specific  reference  can  be  given. 

The  writer  takes  this  occasion  to  acknowledge  his  in- 
debtedness to  all  interested  parties  in  the  lithographic 
industry  who  assisted  him  in  the  work  of  collecting  the 
information  upon  which  this  study  is  based ;  and  especi- 
ally to  the  ofificials  of  unions  and  employers'  associations, 
past  and  present,  who  unhesitatingly  stated  their  posi- 
tions to  him.  Outside  of  the  industry,  the  writer  is  in- 
debted to  Prof.  George  E.  Barnett  for  the  loan  of  union 
convention  proceedings  from  the  Johns  Hopkins  library  ; 
to  Prof.  E.  R.  A.  Seligman  for  suggestions  concerning 
the  form  of  presentation  and  for  the  final  reading  of  the 
manuscript ;  to  Dr.  L.  W.  Hatch  for  preliminary  reading 
of  the  manuscript ;  and  to  Mr.  S.  B.  Dicker  and  my  wife, 
Mrs.  Edna  H.  Hoagland,  for  assistance  in  reading  proof. 

H.  E.  Hoagland. 
University  of  Illinois, 
April  2,  1917. 


CONTENTS 


Introduction 

PAGE 

Origin  of  lithography 1 1 

Methods I2 

Trades  involved 13 

Strategic  position  of  labor,    , »  15 

CHAPTER  I 

The  Development  of  Organization 

Early  unions ^7 

Attempts  to  organize  employers 18 

Purposes  of  employers'  associations 19 

Methods  of  early  unions - 22 

First  open  clash ' 23 

Arbitration  tried 25 

Union  victory 28 

Results 28 

Division  among  employers 30 

Labor  policies  of  employers'  associations,   ...        31 

CHAPTER  II 

Mutual  Government  Defined 

Employers  unite 37 

Request  joint  action  with  unions 38 

Outline  of  plan  proposed 38 

Rejected  by  unions 4° 

Shortage  of  workmen .  45 

Apprenticeship  policies 47 

Employers  insist  upon  joint  action 51 

CHAPTER  III 
Mutual  Government  on  Trul 

Unions  cooperate  for  defense ,    .    .    .    .  53 

Employers  issue  ultimatum 55 

Lockout  threatened .0 57 

Negotiations  begun 57 

423]  7 


8  COXTEXTS  [424 

PACE 

IndividuAl  contracts  oflcred 58 

Mcdiition  by  N.ition.il  Civic  Federation 59 

Agreement  reached 60 

Victory  for  employers 61 

Meaning  of  victory 61 

CHAPTER  IV 

Mutual  Government  Rejected 

Dissensions  among  unions  and  in  association 63 

New  alignment  of  unions 65 

New  agreements  discussed 66 

Demand  for  48  hour  week 66 

Means  of  obtaining  it 69 

Employers  unite  again 74 

Unions  reject  proposed  agreements 79 

End  of  mutual  government 79 

CHAPTER  V 
Preparation  for  Conflict 

Alliance  of  unions  broken 81 

Peremptory  demand  for  48  hour  week 82 

Reorganization  of  employers'  association 82 

Declaration  of  principles 83 

Plan  of  organization 84 

Centralization  of  control 85 

Power  over  members 87 

Management  of  labor  controversies 88 

Unions'  failure  to  prepare  for  conflict 90 

CHAPTER  VI 
Open  Shop  Established 

Employers  plan  to  declare  "  open  shop  " 92 

Await  overt  act  by  unions 92 

Long-term  individual  contracts  offered 93 

Strike  declared 97 

Forced  resignations  from  unions 97 

Use  of  blacklist 98 

Organized  capital  supports  employers 99 

Public  opinion  influenced 100 

Employers  refuse  arbitration 104 

Punishment  of  members  dealing  with  unions 105 

Loss  of  strike 106 

Meaning  to  unions 106 


425]                                           CONTENTS  g 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  VII 
Maintenance  of  Open  Shop 

Strategic  strength  of  one  union 107 

Association  essentially  non-union 109 

Labor  policy  of  association Ill 

Concede  48  hour  week in 

Employment  bureaus 113 

Records  of  employees 113 

Restrictions  upon  individual  bargaining 1 14 

Control  of  apprenticeship 117 

Vocational  education 119 

Association  a  stabilizing  influence .    ,    .    .  120 

CHAPTER  VIII 
Conclusion 

Effects  of  "  open  shop  " 122 

Comparisons  with  printing  industry 122 

Growing  popularity  of  radicalism  among  workmen 122 

Amalgamation  of  unions 123 

Jurisdictional  disputes 125 

Standardization  of  working  conditions 127 

Stages  in  collective  bargaining 129 


^. 


INTRODUCTION 

Unlike  many  arts  and  crafts  practiced  today,  litho- 
graphy has  preserved  a  fairly  authentic  record  of  its 
origin.  The  founder  of  the  art  of  "  writing  from  stone  " 
has  deprived  the  historian  of  much  of  the  zest  of  research 
and  at  the  same  time  has  minimized  the  possibility  of 
error  by  publishing  the  results  of  his  discoveries.  In 
his  Vollstdndiges  Lehrbuch  der  Steindruckerey j"^  Alois 
Senefelder  sets  forth  clearly  the  principles  of  lithography. 

The  truth  of  these  principles  was  first  demonstrated 
in  1798^  when  the  first  lithograph  was  made,  largely  by 
accident. 3  It  was  not  until  several  years  later  ^  that  the 
art  was  introduced  into  America.  But  by  1827  there 
were  presses   in  operation   in   Boston,    New   York   and 


^.         ••  Published  in  Munich  in  1818  under  the  title  of  VoUstandiges  Lehr- 

buch  der  Steindruckerey  cnthaltend  eine  richtige  und  deutliche  Anwei- 

^■;     sung  su  den  verschiedenen  Manipulations- Arten  derselhen  in  alien  ihren 

^     Zweigen  und  Manieren,  belegt  mit  den  nothigen  Musterbldttern,  nebst 

jv      einer  vorangehenden  ausfilhrlichen  Geschichte  dieser  Kunst  von  ihrem 

Entstehen   bis  auf  gegenwdrtige  Zeit.    English   translation   by  J.   W. 

Muller  (New  York,  191 1)  under  the  title  of  Invention  of  Lithography. 

^  Senefelder  himself  sets  the  date  as  1798.  His  biographers  disagree 
in  this,  giving  each  of  the  years  from  1796  to  1800. 

^  The  exact  combination  which  was  crowned  with  success  was  acciden- 
tal; but  Senefelder  had  been  experimenting  for  several  years,  trying  to 
find  a  means  of  writing  from  stone.  See  his  own  description  of  this 
accident  in  his  Lehrbuch. 

*The  New  York  Lithograph,  a  Journal  devoted  to  Lithography  and 
Literature  (New  York,  January,  1874),  vol.  i,  p.  3,  says  it  was  in  1824. 
Others  give  various  dates  from  1816  to  1827.  Cf.  Joseph  Pennell,  Lith- 
ography and  Lithographers  (London,  1915),  p.  217  et  seq.  for  a  discus- 
sion of  the  origin  of  lithography  in  America. 

427]  II 


G2020 


,»"> 


THE  LITHOGRAPHIC  IXDUSTRY 


[428 


Philadelphia,  and  probably  in  otlier  large  cities.'  In 
Europe  lithography  continued  for  some  time  to  be  a 
means  of  expressing  the  ideas  of  artists  ;  in  America  it 
soon  laid  the  foundation  for  the  business  of  selling 
chromos  and  comic  pictures  and  became  the  advertising 
medium  of  circus  managers  and  cigar  makers.' 

The  art  of  lithography  is  based  upon  the  porosity  of 
calcareous  stones  and  certain  metals  ^  and  upon  the 
chemical  principle  that  fatty  or  resinous  substances  have 
an  affinity  for  substances  of  the  same  nature  and  a  repug- 
nance for  water.  Both  lithographic  ink,  which  is  a  resin- 
ous substance,  and  water  penetrate  the  porous  surface 
of  the  stone.  The  design  is  drawn  upon  the  stone  with 
lithographic  ink  and  the  remainder  of  the  stone  is  moist- 
ened with  water.  An  ink  roller  is  then  passed  over  the 
stone.  The  ink  adheres  to  the  design  and  is  repelled  by 
the  moist  parts  of  the  stone.  Hence  the  impression 
taken  reproduces  only  the  design. 

Since  the  first  primary  division  of  labor,  which  per- 
mitted the  employment  of  artisans  skilled  in  separate 
branches  of  the  industry,  the  making  of  lithographs  has 
experienced  few  technical  changes.  Except  for  the  rev- 
olutionary changes  in  the  process  of  printing  and  for 
minor  changes  in  the  method  of  polishing  plates  and 
stones,  the  modern  methods  of  writing  from  stone  differ 
but  little  from  those  employed  by  the  founder  of  the  art. 
Indeed,  the  numerous  texts  on  the  subject  of  lithography 
which  have  appeared  since  Senefelder  published  his  Lehr- 

'  Pennell,  op.  cit.,  p.  217. 
'Ibid.,  p.  217. 

'The  scarcity  of  lithographic  stone  has  caused  a  continual  search  for 
metal  substitutes.  Such  substitutes  are  now  being  used  for  ordinary 
grades  of  work,  but  they  are  inferior  to  stone  for  fine  work.  Cf. 
Warren  C.  Browne,  Metal  Plate  Printing  (New  York,  1910). 


429]  INTRODUCTION  13 

buck  in  1818  have  been  little  more  than  elucidations  of 
the  principles  which  he  outlined  therein. 

Because  the  revolutionizing  power  of  machinery,  so 
successful  in  most  of  our  industries,  has  been  unable 
thus  far  to  cope  with  many  of  the  perplexing  problems 
of  lithography,  the  skilled  workmen  still  retain  a  promi- 
nent part  in  this  industry.'  Strictly  speaking,  unskilled 
or  common  labor  has  no  place  in  lithography.  The 
branches  of  the  industry,  as  they  are  organized  at  present 
and  as  they  have  been  organized  since  the  division  of 
labor  was  effected,  are  as  follows  :  - 

The  stone  and  plate  preparers,  polishers  and  grinders 
prepare  the  slabs  of  calcareous  slate  as  they  come  from 
the  quarry.  This  is  done  by  rubbing  together  two  such 
stones,  face  to  face,  with  sand  or  pumice  mixed  with 
water  between  them.  These  men  also  grind  ofif  the  ink 
after  the  stone  or  plate  has  been  once  used  and  prepare 
it  for  use  again.  The  knowledge  required  to  handle 
these  stones  without  breaking  them,  to  mix  the  proper 
ingredients  for  grinding,  and  to  so  gauge  the  progress 
of  the  grinding  and  polishing  as  to  obtain  the  best  re- 
sults with  the  greatest  economy  of  stone  surface,  makes 
this  work  a  semi-skilled  trade. 

There  are  two  methods  of  preparing  the  design  which 
is  to  be  lithographed.  In  commercial  or  black  and  white 
work,  the  design  is  first  drawn  on  paper  in  the  regular  or 
"  positive  "  way.  Much  of  this  work  is  drawn  to  measure- 
ment, though  some  of  it,  especially  shading,  is  free  hand. 

^  In  1909  the  employers  stated  publicly  that  wages  constitute  41  per  cent 
of  the  cost  of  production  in  their  industry.  American  Lithography:  Its 
Growth,  Its  Development,  Its  Need  of  Tariff  Protection,  Published  by 
the  National  Association  of  Employing  Lithographers. 

^  For  a  description  of  the  methods  and  processes  employed  in  lith- 
ography, cf.  Warren  C.  Browne,  Practical  Textbook  of  Lithography 
(New  York,  1912). 


14  THE  LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [430 

Lettering  is  drawn  in  the  same  manner  as  other  commer- 
cial (lesipfns.  In  color  lithography  and  especially  in  pos- 
ter printing,  the  design  is  made  directly  ujion  the  i)rint- 
ing  stone  or  plate  in  the  reverse  or  ''  negative  "  position. 
The  lithographic  artist  and  designer  are  in  fact,  as  well 
as  in  name,  more  artists  than  artizans.  While  in  com- 
mercial work  direct  copying  and  measurement  are  often 
possible,  in  poster  work  this  is  seldom  true.  Even  in 
reproducing  a  photograph  in  poster  form  the  fact  that 
the  lines  must  be  drawn  in  reverse  order  requires  an 
unusually  high  degree  of  skill,  while  in  many  cases  the 
artist  has  given  him  only  the  idea  of  a  picture  which  he 
is  expected  to  produce.  The  amount  of  skill  required  is 
indicated  by  the  sources  from  wdiich  the  trade  is  re- 
cruited. Only  young  men  with  an  aptitude  for  drawing 
are  taught  the  trade.  Many  apprentices  have  first  at- 
tempted independent  art  work  before  learning  lithog- 
raphy. 

In  commercial  lithography,  the  positive  design  drawn 
on  paper  by  the  artist  is  reproduced  on  an  engraving 
stone.  The  engraver  cuts  or  scratches  the  image  or 
lettering  into  the  smooth  surface  of  the  stone  in  negative 
position  for  stone  or  direct  printing  rotary  presses  and 
in  positive  position  for  offset  presses.  A  single  engrav- 
ing furnishes  the  base  for  many  forms. 

When  the  engraving  is  finished,  the  transferrer  pulls  a 
transfer  impression  from  it  and  lays  it  upon  a  printing 
stone  or  plate  in  as  many  different  places  as  there  are 
required  forms  for  printing.  Color  lithography  of  course 
requires  no  transferring,  since  the  design  is  made  di- 
rectly upon  the  printing  stone. 

The  prover  then  takes  a  proof  of  the  stone  or  plate  to 
see  that  all  lines  are  clear  and  to  make  sure  that  the  en- 
graver has   made  a   faithful   reproduction  of  the  original 


43 1  ]  INTRODUCTION  1 5 

design.  Proofs  are  usually  taken  by  hand.  The  prover 
must  be  capable  of  correcting  mistakes  in  the  design. 

This  done,  the  stone  or  plate  is  turned  over  to  the 
pressman.  The  work  of  the  pressman  is  not  materially 
different  from  that  of  the  printing  pressman.  Consider- 
able skill  is  required  in  mixing  inks,  adjusting  forms,  and 
in  keeping  the  press  in  proper  running  order.  Although 
the  hand  press  is  still  in  use  in  some  plants  for  short  runs, 
most  printing  is  done  on  mechanical  presses.  In  this 
one  branch  of  the  industry,  machinery  has  revolution- 
ized the  work  and  greatly  reduced  its  cost.  Both  me- 
chanical stone  presses  and  direct-printing  rotary  presses 
using  plates  instead  of  stones  have  been  in  use  for  some 
time.  More  recently  the  offset  press  has  been  intro- 
duced. The  process  is  the  same  as  in  the  stone  presses 
except  that  the  im.pression  of  the  design  to  be  printed 
is  made  upon  a  plate  from  which  it  is  transferred  in  the 
process  of  printing  to  a  rubber  blanket  and  thence  to 
paper. 

The  pressman  is  assisted  by  the  press  feeder  who  not 
only  feeds  the  press  but  also  assists  the  pressman  in  his 
work.  During  his  period  of  service  as  a  feeder,  he  as- 
sumes no  responsibility  for  the  work  but  is  directed  by 
the  pressman. 

The  engraver,  the  transferrer,  the  prover,  and  the 
pressman  are  all  skilled  workmen.  The  press  feeder  is 
a  semi-skilled  workman. 

In  color  lithography  and  in  poster  printing  the  suc- 
cess of  the  manufacturer  depends,  to  a  very  large  degree, 
upon  the  skill  of  his  artists.  Some  commercial  artists 
can  do  poster  work  fairly  well.  But  except  for  these, 
there  is  no  source  of  supply  from  which  substitute  work- 
men can  be  immediately  obtained.  Stone  and  plate 
preparers  and  pressmen  are  also  indispensable.     There  is 


l6  THE  LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [432 

no  other  trade  whose  work  is  identical  with  that  of  the 
stone  and  plate  preparer,  but,  under  the  direction  of  a 
coniiictent  foreman,  this  work  can  be  learned  in  a  few 
months.  Although  their  work  is  not  identical,  typo- 
graphic pressmen  can  learn  very  quickly  the  trade  of  the 
lithographic  pressmen.  In  addition,  every  press  feeder 
of  considerable  experience  is  a  potential  pressman.  With 
competent  direction,  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  train  press 
feeders. 

In  commercial  and  in  black  and  white  lithography, 
the  stone  and  plate  preparer,  the  artist  and  designer, 
the  engraver,  the  transferrer,  the  prover,  and  the  press- 
man are  all  indispensable  to  the  success  of  the  work. 
Some  poster  artists  can  do  commercial  work  satisfac- 
torily. Stone  and  plate  preparers,  pressmen,  and  press 
feeders  can  be  replaced  in  the  same  manner  as  in  color 
lithography.  The  engraver  and  the  transferrer  do  work 
which  is  not  exactly  matched  in  any  other  industry. 
Some  other  skilled  workman  in  the  industry,  such  as 
artist  or  transferrer,  can  be  used  to  take  proofs  when 
necessary. 

This  brief  introduction  is  intended  to  indicate  the  part 
which  labor  plays  in  the  lithographic  industry,  in  order 
to  aid  in  understanding  the  labor  policies  which  have 
dominated  the  labor  leaders  on  the  one  hand  and  the 
spokesmen  for  the  employers  on  the  other. 


CHAPTER  I 
The  Development  of  Organization 

Previous  to  the  Civil  War  there  were  sporadic  unions 
in  the  lithographic  industry  in  the  United  States.'  All 
of  these  were  short-lived,  however,  and  none  of  them 
outlived  the  panic  of  1857  and  the  war  which  followed  a 
short  time  later.  With  the  revival  of  unionism  a  few 
years  after  the  war,  lithographic  workmen  shared  in  the 
enthusiasm  for  organization. 

As  early  as  1870  the  employees  of  this  industry  in  New 
York  City  organized  a  union  which  was  local  in  its  juris- 
diction. This  organization  became  the  nucleus  of  the 
first  national  union  in  the  industry,  formed  under  the 
Knights  of  Labor  in  1882.  At  first  the  lithographers 
had  no  separate  charter  but  later  a  charter  was  granted 
them  and  an  industrial  union  was  formed  which  claimed 
jurisdiction  over  all  skilled  men  in  the  industry,  includ- 
ing artists,  designers,  engravers,  provers,  transferrers, 
and  pressmen.  Stone  preparers  were  not  considered 
skilled  workmen  and  hence  were  not  included.  Press 
feeders  were  mere  boys  then  and  found  no  place  in  the 
organization. 

Dissension  arose  within  this  organization  and  in  1890 
the  majority  of  the  artists  and  their  engravers  withdrew 

'  For  example,  a  strike  of  lithographic  printers  occurred  in  New  York 
in  May,  1853,  New  York  Times,  May  4,  1853.  Several  unions  of  lith- 
ographic workmen  were  in  existence  at  this  time  in  Philadelphia,  New 
York,  and  other  large  cities. 

4331  17 


iS  Tllli  UTHOGRAPinV  IXDUSTRV  [434 

and  formed  the  International  Lithographic  Artists'  and 
Engravers'  Insurance  and  Protective  Association  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada.  The  parent  organization 
continued  under  the  name  of  Lithographers'  Interna- 
tional Protective  and  Beneficial  Association  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada.  It  still  claimed  jurisdiction  over  the 
artists  and  engravers  and,  in  addition,  admitted  stone 
grinders  and  preparers. 

The  first  attempt  of  the  employers  to  form  an  organi- 
zation was  in  1884.  In  September  of  that  year  the  Li/k- 
ographer  and  Printer  sent  out  the  following  call : 

To  the  Lithog:raphic  Trade  of  the  United  States  and 
Canada : 

During  the  past  four  years  numerous  abuses  have  crept  into 
the  Lithog^raphic  Trade,  whereby  the  profits  of  the  business 
have  been  so  greatly  curtailed  as  to  make  it  far  less  remune- 
rative than  it  should  be.  As  a  consequence  of  this  cutting  ofT 
of  profits,  the  standard  of  workmanship  is,  save  in  exceptional 
cases,  much  lower  than  it  ought  to  be.  Moreover,  there  is 
no  unity  of  action  among  the  members  of  the  trade  ;  in  fact, 
there  is  but  little  acquaintance  between  them,  though  they 
should  be  bound  together  in  close  union  for  the  furtherance 
of  their  mutual  interests.     Therefore, 

Believing  that  a  convention  of  the  members  of  the  Litho- 
graphic Trade  or  representatives  of  them,  masters  and  work- 
men, will  be  of  benefit  to  all  of  us,  in  the  correction  of  abuses, 
comparison  of  methods  and  experiences  and  in  a  better  ac- 
quaintance with  each  other,  we  invite  our  fellow-craftsmen  to 
meet  with  us  in  the  City  of  Chicago,  on  Nov.  17,  18  and  19, 
1884,  to  consider  matters  having  any  connection  with  or  bear- 
ing on  our  craft  and,  if  thought  advisable,  to  form  an  Inter- 
national Association  of  Lithographers.  Every  firm  in  both 
countries,  as  well  as  each  association  of  the  workmen,  is 
invited  to  send  one  or  more  representatives. 


435]  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  ORGANIZATION  ig 

Commenting  upon  this  project,  the  Lithographer  and 
Printer  said  : 

This  will  be  the  first  general  meeting:  of  lithographers  ever 
held  in  America — a  fact  which  lends  added  importance  to  the 
occasion.  For  years  the  trade  has  drifted  along,  without  even 
the  suggestion  that  its  members  should  have  any  unity  of 
purpose.  Endeavoring  to  keep  his  own  processes  secret,  after 
the  fashion  of  the  guilds  of  the  Middle  Ages,  each  one  has 
usually  been  ignorant  of  the  other's  methods,  except  as  they 
were  taught  by  itinerant  workmen  or  by  peripatetic  vendors 
of  supplies.  A  Chinese  wall  of  prejudice  has  been  built  be- 
tween members  of  the  craft,  preventing  that  friendly  inter- 
course with  one  another  which  should  prevail.* 

This  attempt  at  organization  failed ;  but  the  subject 
was  kept  before  the  employers  in  the  industry  until,  on 
October  5,  1888,  the  National  Lithographers'  Associa- 
tion was  formed.  The  objects  of  this  association,  as 
stated  in  the  preamble  to  its  first  constitution,  were  as 
follows  : 

For  the  purpose  of  furthering  the  interest  of  the  Litho- 
graphic business,  by  collecting  and  dispensing  such  informa- 
tion as  shall  tend  to  stimulate  the  same,  protect  the  trade  from 
dishonest  and  unreliable  agents  and  dealers,  to  expose  mis- 
representation and  fraud,  and  to  maintain  profitable  rates,  we, 
a  portion  of  the  Lithographic  Manufacturers  of  the  United 
States,  do  hereby  bind  ourselves  together  under  the  title  of 
"  The  National  Lithographers'  Association,"  and  do  hereby 
agree  upon  and  adopt  the  following  constitution  and  by-laws 
of  our  organization. 

The  association  had  a  small  initiation  fee  and  nominal 
dues,  but  it  had  no  means  of  disciplining  its  members 

^  Reprinted  in  Printers'  and  Lithographers'  Weekly  Gazette  and  News- 
paper Reporter  (New  York),  September  29,  1884,  PP-  610-11. 


20  THR  UTHOGRAPIIIC  INDUSTRY  [436 

wlio  refused  to  obey  its  rules.  In  fact,  its  rules  were 
rcconiniemlations  rather  tlian  mandates,  since  both  in- 
ternal and  external  causes  prevented  their  uniform  appli- 
cation. For  example,  the  association  could  not  fix  prices, 
because  non-members  would  get  the  business  at  lower 
rates.  It  could  not  regulate  costs,  because  a  considerable 
percentage  of  its  members  believed  the  rule-of- thumb 
method  the  only  one  applicable  to  lithography  and  would 
not  permit  committees  to  attempt  to  standardize  their 
costs.  Hence  the  association  merely  held  its  annual 
conventions  and  discussed  matters  of  interest  to  the 
trade. 

The  subjects  which  received  most  attention  at  the  con- 
vention of  1894  were  as  follows:  tariff,  copyright  law, 
hours  of  labor,  costs,  prices,  and  apprenticeship.'  The 
tariff  and  the  copyright  law  were  the  two  subjects  upon 
which  all  members  could  agree,  since  all  wished  a  pro- 
hibitive tariff  on  the  products  of  their  industry  and  all 
wished  protective  copyright  laws.  It  was  proposed 
that  the  hours  of  labor  be  made  uniform  as  a  means  of 
standardizing  costs.''  The  committee  on  the  state  of 
trade  reported  against  this  proposition  on  the  ground 
that  the  shops  in  the  West  were  working  58  hours, 
while  those  in  the  East  were  working  only  53,  and  that 
any  attempt  to  reduce  the  hours  of  the  former  would 
cause  the  western  members  of  the  association  to  with- 
draw their  membership. ^  Costs  and  prices  were  dis- 
cussed, but  the  association  had  no  power  to  enforce  its 
recommendations  for  the  reasons  given  above. 

^  Sixth  Annual  Report   of  the  National  Lithographers'  Association, 
passim. 

'The  unions  were  demanding  shorter  hours  at  this  time  also. 
'Sixth  Annual  Report  of  the  National  Lithographers'  Association, 
P-  55- 


437]  •^'^^  DEVELOPMENT  OF  ORGANIZATION  2 1 

The  apprenticeship  question  has  always  been  one  of 
the  most  perplexing  with  which  the  employers  have  at- 
tempted to  deal.  At  this  time  two  forces  combined  to 
augment  the  difficulties  involved  in  the  training  of 
journeymen.  In  the  first  place,  the  unions  were  demand- 
ing a  more  rigid  limitation  of  the  number  of  apprentices 
and  the  journeymen  refused  to  teach  the  apprentices 
unless  the  unions  were  permitted  to  control  their  num- 
ber. In  the  second  place,  the  journeymen  themselves 
were  being  speeded  up  in  an  attempt  to  reduce  costs. 
The  piece-work  system  of  wage  payment  had  been  intro- 
duced to  efifect  this  result.  By  this  time  also  the  youth 
entering  the  trade  had  ceased  to  be  apprenticed  to  a 
master  workman  and  had  become  apprenticed  to  an 
industry  instead.  Apprentices  were  not  indentured  and 
boys  remained  in  a  shop  only  until  they  could  better 
their  condition  elsewhere.  Hence  the  few  journeymen 
who  were  being  trained  were  almost  sure  to  be  unfin- 
ished workmen  who  really  learned  their  trade,  if  at  all, 
after  they  secured  work  as  journeymen. 

As  a  result  of  these  new  forces  in  the  industry,  the 
training  of  apprentices  was  a  costly  operation  to  the 
employer  and  many  preferred  to  let  other  shops  train 
their  journeymen.  In  fact,  so  many  of  the  employers 
took  this  attitude  that  the  result,  combined  with  the  union 
restrictions  upon  apprenticeship,  threatened  the  future 
of  the  industry.  Some  of  the  leading  employers,  as  well 
as  some  of  the  union  leaders,  recognized  this  danger 
and  took  steps  to  avert  it.  Joint  conferences  were  held 
and  a  plan  was  outlined.  This  plan  was  endorsed  at  the 
1894  convention  of  the  association  and  was  as  follows: 
That  the  Drexel  Institute  of  Philadelphia  be  persuaded 
to  establish  a  school  of  lithography  for  the  training  of 
workmen  for  the  industry.     Or,  if  the  Drexel  Institute 


THE  UTUOGRAPUIC  INDUSTRY  [438 

couUl  not  or  wouUl  not  do  so,  tliat  a  similar  school  be 
established  at  Pratt  Institute,  Brooklyn.  No  definite 
action,  other  than  formal  endorsement,  was  taken  by  the 
association,  ami  it  was  not  until  nearly  a  decade  later 
that  such  a  school  was  actually  established. 

The  above  are  the  subjects  with  which  the  Litho- 
grahers*  Association  was  concerned  in  1894.  Other 
subjects  were  discussed,  such  as  ways  and  means  of 
strengthening  local  associations  of  employers ;  but  not 
enough  interest  was  taken  in  these  other  subjects  to 
make  them  important.  The  association  at  this  time  was 
merely  an  advisory  body  of  employers  more  interested 
in  prices,  taritts,  and  copyrights  than  in  labor  unions. 

The  unions  also  served  as  open  forums  for  the  discus- 
sion of  trade  questions  and  their  members  at  first  framed 
recommendations  rather  than  demands.  To  be  sure,  the 
union  constitutions  contained  rules  for  the  government 
of  labor  conditions  in  the  industry;  but  these  rules 
were  not  strictly  enforced,  and  education  rather  than 
compulsion  was  used  as  the  means  of  bringing  about 
uniformity  of  trade  conditions.  For  example,  at  its 
convention  in  1895,  the  president  of  the  L,  I.  P.  and  B. 
A.  said,  in  speaking  of  the  question  of  hours  of  work: 

In  justice  to  employers  who  have  granted  the  53  hours,  we 
should  urge  upon  those  few  who  still  persist  in  working  their 
shops  longer,  the  injustice  of  this  action.  As  the  Employers' 
Association,  of  which  most  of  those  who  are  violating  this 
rule  are  members,  has  frequently  passed  resolutions  favorable 
to  the  53  hours,  I  believe  there  should  be  no  difficulty  in 
gaining  this  point.' 

In  the  meantime,  the  unions  were  adding  to  their 
membership  and    securing  a   greater  degree  of  control 

^Proceedings  of  Third  Biennial  Convention  of  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.,  p.  10. 


439]  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  ORGANIZATION  23 

over  the  workmen  in  the  industry.  With  increased 
numbers  came  a  reaHzation  of  power  and  requests  to 
employers  gave  place  to  demands.  The  unions  framed 
their  programs  and  presented  them  to  employers  as  the 
conditions  under  which  the  employees  proposed  to  work. 
These  contracts,  if  they  may  be  called  such,  were  first 
local  in  form  and  as  such  began  to  operate  as  early  as 
1894.  This  method  of  establishing  trade  rules  caused 
some  dissatisfaction  among  the  employers,  but  as  long 
as  they  acted  as  individuals  they  were  at  a  disadvantage 
in  dealing  with  the  combined  strength  of  their  workmen. 
The  first  open  clash  came  in  1896  when  the  first  na- 
tional union  demands  resulted  in  combined  action  of  the 
employers  to  resist  them.  In  July,  1895,  the  New  York 
local  of  the  Lithographic  Artists'  and  Engravers'  Asso- 
ciation passed  the  following  resolutions  : 

1.  That  piece-work  be  declared  a  grievance. 

2.  That  the  General  President  take  steps  to  collect  moneys 
for  an  emergency  fund. 

3.  That  there  be  regulation  and  limitation  of  apprentices, 
and 

4.  That  eighteen  dollars  ($18.00)  be  fixed  as  a  minimum 
weekly  wage.^ 

A  special  national  convention  met  in  Cleveland,  Decem- 
ber 2,  1895,  and  agreed  upon  the  following  demands: 

1.  That  the  piece-work  system  be  abolished. 

2.  All  journeymen  to  receive  not  less  than  $18.00  per  week. 

3.  The  following  rules  regulating  apprentices  shall  be  ad- 
hered to : 

To  every  five  artists,  engravers  and  designers,  one  appren- 

^  Arbitration  a  Success — History  of  the  Lithographers'  Strike  (New- 
York,  1896),  p.  s. 


24  TllU  LlTUOCRAriUC  INDUSTRY  [440 

tice.     In  cases  whore  there  is  only  one  artist,  engraver  and 
designer  employed,  one  apprentice. 

Employers  should  accept  only  persons  who  show  the  neces- 
sary talent,  and  furthermore,  arc  to  gfive  them  a  trial  of  six 
months,  in  order  to  give  them  a  chance  to  adopt  the  profes- 
sion, or  to  prove  whether  they  are  capable  of  mastering  the 
same;  saiil  apprentice  shall  be  under  contract  for  a  period  of 
not  less  than  four  {4)  years.  Any  apprentice  breaking-  such 
a  contract  with  his  employer  shall  forever  be  barred  from 
becoming  a  member  of  this  Association. 

4.  All  overtime  work  shall  be  paid  for  at  the  rate  of  time 
and  one-half. 

5.  Forty-four  hours  to  constitute  a  week's  work.' 

Employers  were  then  notified  that  these  laws  were 
"to  go  into  effect  February  24th,  1896."  The  demands 
were  accompanied  by  a  brief  giving  the  reasons  why  they 
were  made.     The  brief  began  as  follows  : 

In  all  our  deliberations  on  the  state  of  the  lithographic  in- 
dustry, and  on  the  measures  which  we  have  decided  to  adopt 
in  order  to  further  the  interests  of  all  those  actively  engaged 
in  it,  the  idea  always  paramount,  and  the  guiding  considera- 
tion above  all  others,  was  that,  in  deciding  upon  any  one 
measure,  we  absolutely  refrain  from  discriminating  in  favor  or 
to  the  disadvantage  of  anybody,  either  employer  or  employee ; 
that  the  interest  of  the  employee  was  identical  with  those  of 
the  employer,  and  that  we  should  endeavor  to  elevate  the 
standard  of  our  industry  to  the  highest  attainable  plane.* 

Then   follow  detailed    reasons   why   the    demands   were 
made  and  must  be  complied  with. 

The  employers  of  St.  Louis,  Chicago,  Cleveland,  To- 
ronto, Rochester  and  Boston  reached  amicable  agree- 
ments  with   the  union,  but   those   in   Buffalo  and  New 

^Arbitration  a  Success,  op.  cif.,  p.  6.  ^ Ibid.,  p.  8. 


441  ]  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  ORGANIZATION  25 

York  ignored  its  demands.'  In  the  meantime,  thirty-nine 
employers  in  New  York  City  formed  the  Lithographers' 
Association  of  the  Metropolitan  District  for  the  purpose 
of  offering  united  resistance  to  the  demands  of  the 
union. "^  The  trade  oflices^  granted  the  demands,  thereby 
enabling  the  employers  in  the  association  to  continue 
operations  by  sending  work  to  such  trade  offices  while 
fighting  the  union.  Recognizing  this  possibility,  the 
union  refused  to  do  any  work  in  New  York  City  until 
all  employers  had  granted  its  demands.  The  employers 
of  Buffalo  followed  the  lead  of  the  New  York  employers, 
and  the  Buffalo  union  acted  in  accord  with  the  New 
York  union. 

At  a  mass  meeting  held  February  21,  i8g6,  a  strike 
was  called  against  all  shops  in  New  York  City,  to  begin 
February  24.  On  February  25,  the  Metropolitan  Asso- 
ciation asked  for  a  conference  with  the  union.  This 
request  was  refused,  because  it  granted  none  of  the  de- 
mands of  the  union,  and  the  strike  began.  The  employ- 
ers attempted  to  secure  strike  breakers  but  were  unsuc- 
cessful. On  March  17,  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  offered 
to  mediate  the  strike.  This  offer  was  accepted  by  the 
employers  but  was  rejected  by  the  union.  The  L.  I.  P. 
and  B.  A.  continued  its  efforts  and  on  March  25  the 
union  and  the  association  signed  an  agreement  to  arbi- 
trate all  differences  between  them.  The  arbitration  board 
was  to  consist  of  three  members  of  the  union,  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  its  president,  and  three  members  of  the  asso- 
ciation, to  be  appointed  by  its  president.  This  board  was 
empowered  to  take  evidence  and  render  a  decision  within 
thirty  days  after  its  appointment. 

^  Arbitration  a  Success,  op.  cit.,  p.  11.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  13. 

*  The  trade  office  sub-contracts  work  from  the  manufacturer  who  ob- 
tains it  originally.  Usually  the  trade  office  or  trade  shop  is  a  one-trade 
shop  doing  only  printing  or  designing,  etc. 


jC)  the  IJrihh.K.ll'HlC  IXDUSTRV  [442 

The  aj^rconient  ]irovidcd  that  the  decision  of  this  joint 
board  should  be  final  and  binding  upon  both  the  union 
and  tiie  employers.  Anticipating  a  probable  failure  of 
the  l)oard  to  ettect  a  settlement  of  the  differences,  the 
parties  agreed  that  in  such  case  this  joint  board  should 
select  an  umpire  who  should  be  neither  an  employing 
lithographer  nor  a  member  of  the  union.  To  this  umpire 
both  parties  were  to  submit  all  evidence  and  papers  at 
the  disposal  of  the  joint  board.  His  decision  was  to  have 
the  same  force  and  effect  as  a  decision  of  the  board. 

To  this  arbitration  board,  consisting  of  three  em- 
ployers and  three  employees,  the  questions  in  dispute 
were  submitted.  Sessions  were  held  from  March  31  to 
April  9,  during  which  time  the  rate  for  overtime  and  the 
ratio  of  apprentices  were  mutually  agreed  to.'  No 
agreement  was  reached  in  regard  to  hours,  piece-work, 
and  minimum  wage.  The  union  offered  to  accept  the 
employers'  proposal  concerning  hours  of  work,  provided 
the  latter  would  agree  to  the  minimum  wage  and  the 
abolition  of  piece-work.  This  proposal  was  rejected. 
Since  the  board  could  not  agree  upon  these  issues.  Bishop 

^  In  regard  to  the  limitation  of  apprentices,  however,  the  union  ob- 
viously misunderstood  the  employers'  proposal,  as  the  following  testi- 
mony shows : 

Chairman  (an  employer)  :  I  have  a  proposition  to  submit  to  you  on 
that,  that  where  there  are  below  five  journeymen,  there  be  one  appren- 
tice; there  are  to  be  two  for  five,  three  for  ten,  four  for  fifteen,  five 
for  twenty,  six  for  twenty-five,  seven  for  thirty,  and  so  on  in  the  same 
proportion. 

Mr.  (an  employee)  :  That  is  practically  one  for  five,  as  I 

understand  it. 

Mr.  (an  employer)  :  Exactly,  one  for  five.    Arbitration  a 

Success,  op.  cit.,  p.  102. 

The  proposal  was  accepted  by  the  union  with  the  understanding  voiced 
by  its  representative  and  accepted  by  the  employers'  representative, 
though  the  motion  read  differently. 


443]  -^^^  DEVELOPMENT  OF  ORGANIZATION  27 

H.  C.  Potter  was  selected  as  umpire  or  arbitrator,  under 
the  terms  of  the  agreement.  After  one  session  with  the 
board,  Bishop  Potter  asked  that  each  side  present  a  brief 
covering  the  points  in  dispute  and  requested  that  he  be 
permitted  to  seek  the  advice  of  other  disinterested  parties 
before  submitting  his  decision.  This  request  was  granted 
and  Dr.  FeHx  Adler  and  Mr.  Oscar  Cole  acted  as  ad- 
visers to  Bishop  Potter. 

In  submitting  his  decision  Bishop  Potter  agreed  with 
the  employers  that  the  demand  for  a  forty-four  hour  week 
was  "unreasonable"  and  that  the  former  week  of  forty- 
seven  and  a  half  hours  should  continue.'  On  the  other 
two  points  he  agreed  with  the  union  and  decided  in 
favor  of  the  abolition  of  piece-work  and  the  establish- 
ment of  a  minimum  wage.'' 

^  Only  the  artists  had  such  working  hours.     Other  trades  in  the  in- 
dustry worked  53  to  58  hours. 

'  In  giving  his  decision  on  these  points,  the  Bishop  said : 
"  The  gist  of  the  matter  seems  to  be  this :  There  is  a  tendency  at  the 
present  day,  among  the  working  classes,  toward  increasing  solidarity. 
There  is  a  strong  movement,  among  the  employers  of  labor,  to  resist  this 
tendency.  The  conditions  implied  in  the  wage-work  system  are  favor- 
able to  solidarity.  Hence  the  workmen  demand  it.  The  conditions  im- 
pHed  in  the  piece-work  system  allow  the  employer  to  deal  with  the  men 
separately,  and  to  isolate,  more  or  less,  the  interest  of  each  from  his 
fellows.  What  should  be  the  position  of  the  arbitrator  in  such  a  con- 
flict? If  arbitration  means  compromise,  I  do  not  see  how  it  is  possible 
under  these  circumstances.  There  can  be  compromise  as  to  hours  of 
labor,  as  to  amount  of  wages  to  be  paid,  as  to  number  of  apprentices 
to  be  allowed,  etc.  In  fact,  wherever  the  difference  can  be  stated  numeri- 
cally, compromise  seems  clearly  in  order.  But  I  do  not  see  how  there 
can  be  any  compromise  between  opposing  principles.  If,  nevertheless, 
the  arbitrator  or  referee  is  required  to  give  a  decision,  it  seems  to  me 
he  must  consult  his  highest  conscience  as  to  which  of  the  opposing 
tendencies  make  for  the  social  good,  and  side  with  one  or  the  other 
of  the  parties  accordingly.  In  the  interest  of  arbitration  as  a  means  of 
settling  labor  disputes,  this  point  should  be  clearly  stated,  so  that  the 


j8  the  i.iTiioGR.irinc  industry  [444 

Tlic  union  hailed  this  decision  as  a  ij^rcat  victory  for 
its  mcnibcrs,  as  indeed  it  was,  since  it  embodied  the 
final  proposals  of  tiie  workmen  to  the  employers.  The 
employers,  on  the  other  hand,  recognizing  the  superior 
strength  of  their  organized  workmen,  had  hoped  for  a 
compromise.  When  tiiey  failed  to  benefit  by  the  resort 
to  arbitration  they  were  none  too  zealous  about  living 
up  to  the  terms  of  the  arbitrator's  award. 

This  victory  had  an  even  greater  significance  for  union- 
ism than  the  securing  of  the  immediate  demands.  It 
gave  an  impetus  to  organization  which  all  but  over- 
reached itself.  The  press  feeders  had  always  been  con- 
sidered apprentices  to  the  pressmen ;  but  the  rate  at 
which  such  feeders  advanced  was  so  slow  that  boys  be- 
ginning as  feeders  grew  to  be  young  men  and  even 
mature  men  and  still  acted  as  feeders.  They  asked  pro- 
tection from  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  but  were  ignored. 
Instead,  some  members  of  this  union  refused  to  permit 
the  feeders  to  learn  to  operate  the  presses  and  encour- 
aged the  granting  of  apprentices  as  such  who  would 
eventually  overstep  the  feeders  and  become  pressmen. 

This  condition  brought  about  the  organization  of  a 
third  union  in  1898  under  the  name  of  International 
Protective  Association  of  Lithographic  Apprentices  and 
Press  Feeders  of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  Dis- 
sension among  the  artists  caused  one  branch  of  that 
trade  to  form  a  fourth  union  in  1899  under  the  name  of 
Poster  Artists'  Association  of  America.     The  increasing 

distinction    between    arbitration    and    compromise    may    come    to    be 
recognized. 

"...  I  regard  the  abolition  of  piece-work  in  the  lithographers'  trade 
and  a  fixed  wage  ...  as  measures  in  harmony  with  the  tendencies 
that  make  for  social  progress,  and  therefore  decide  in  favor  of  the  men 
on  these  points."    Arbitration  a  Success,  op.  cit.,  pp.  163-4. 


445]  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  ORGANIZATION  29 

demand  for  stone  and  plate  preparers  gave  that  trade 
more  dignity  than  it  had  had  formerly  and  its  members 
formed  a  fifth  union  in  1900  known  as  the  International 
Association  of  Lithographic  Stone  and  Plate  Preparers 
of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  Finally,  a  sixth  union 
in  the  industry  was  formed  by  the  Paper  Cutters.' 

Although  independent  of  each  other,  all  of  these 
unions,  except  the  Paper  Cutters,  were  involved  in  juris- 
dictional disputes.  These  disputes  experienced  periods 
of  truce  when  a  combined  effort  to  fight  employers  was 
necessary,  but  they  prevented  the  employees  in  the  in- 
dustry from  exercising  their  united  strength  in  dealing 
with  their  employers.  The  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  claimed 
original  jurisdiction  over  the  members  of  each  of  the 
other  unions,  except  the  Press  Feeders,  whom  it  ignored. 
On  the  other  hand,  many  of  the  feeders  could  operate 
presses  and  were  useful  to  employers  when  the  latter 
had  difficulty  with  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  The  Artists, 
Engravers,  and  Designers  claimed  jurisdiction  over  the 
Poster  Artists  and  over  the  engravers  who  remained  in 
the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  The  Poster  Artists  could  dis- 
place the  commercial  artists  and  did  so  on  occasion. 
When  the  Stone  and  Plate  Preparers  organized,  a  few 
remained  with  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  and  caused  shop 
troubles  to  arise  in  consequence.  Since  most  shops 
contained  members  of  nearly  all,  if  not  all,  of  these  six 
unions,  the  possibilities  of  union  control  were  small,  had 
the  employers  been  closely  organized. 

Yet  in  spite  of  these  factional  fights  among  the  work- 
men, they  were  at  least  organized  and  their  unions  were 
gaining    in     strength.      Meantime,    factions    developed 

^  Known  as  Local  Union,  No.  119,  Paper  Cutters  of  New  York  and 
Vicinity. 


^O  Tini  UTUOCRAPUIC  ISDUSTRY  [446 

among:  the  employers  and  caused  a  sectional  split  be- 
tween those  in  the  West  and  those  in  the  East.  The 
former  handed  together  into  an  association  known  as 
the  American  Lithot;Taphers'  Association,  while  the 
latter  formed  the  Lithographers'  Association  of  the 
United  States. 

The  American  Lithographers'  Association  gave  most 
attention  to  prices  and  costs  and  dealt  with  labor  ques- 
tions only  incidentally.  The  Lithographers'  Association 
of  the  United  States  very  largely  abandoned  its  attempts 
to  regulate  prices  and  costs  and  gave  more  and  more 
attention  to  labor  questions.  The  reasons  for  this  diver- 
sity of  interests  were  as  follows :  first,  the  growing 
strength  of  unionism  in  the  East  while  labor  organiza- 
tions developed  less  rapidly  in  the  West;  and  second, 
the  demonstrated  failure  of  previous  attempts  to  regulate 
prices  and  costs  in  the  East  w^here  competition  was 
much  more  keen  than  in  the  West.  A  third  reason  was 
the  comparative  strength  of  the  eastern  employers  in 
methods  of  production  which  made  it  possible  for  them 
to  undersell  their  western  competitors.  Both  associa- 
tions attempted  to  extend  their  membership  so  as  to  be- 
come national  in  jurisdiction.  Although  they  had  some 
common  interests,  their  main  purposes  were  different 
but  not  antagonistic.  But  each  refused  to  be  absorbed 
by  the  other. 

In  name  at  least  both  associations  claimed  to  be  guar- 
dians of  all  of  the  industrial  interests  of  their  members. 
For  example,  the  certificate  of  incorporation'  of  the 
Lithographers'  Association  of  the  United  States  declared 
the  objects  of  the  association  to  be  as  follows  : 

'  The  association  was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of 
New  York. 


447]  ^^^  DEVELOPMENT  OF  ORGANIZATION  31 

To  foster  the  lithographic  trade,  to  reform  abuses  relative 
thereto,  to  secvire  freedom  from  unjust  or  unlawful  exactions, 
to  diffuse  accurate  and  reliable  information  as  to  the  standing^ 
of  merchants  and  other  matters,  to  procure  uniformity  and 
certainty  in  the  customs  and  usag^es  of  the  lithog'raphic  trade 
and  commerce,  and  of  those  having-  a  common  interest  there- 
in ;  to  settle  differences  between  its  members  and  to  promote 
a  more  enlarged  and  friendly  intercourse  between  lithogra- 
phers ;  including  among  such  objects  an  extension  of  the  field 
of  employment  of  lithography,  an  increase  in  efficiency,  im- 
provement in  the  quality  of  the  work,  all  reasonable  methods 
for  effecting  economies  in  production  and  the  promotion  of 
settlements  of  disputes  between  employers  and  employees  in 
proper  cases  by  arbitration  or  other  amicable  means. 

The  American  Lithographers'  Association  maintained 
neutrality  in  labor  matters  and  left  control  of  labor  ques- 
tions very  largely  in  the  hands  of  individual  employers. 
By  1899  the  hours  in  almost  all  shops,  East  and  West, 
had  been  reduced  to  53.  This  had  been  supported  by 
the  National  Association  before  the  split  in  the  organi- 
zation occurred.  On  other  matters,  such  as  wages  and 
apprenticeship,  the  unions  made  adjustments  in  their 
policies  from  time  to  time  and  submitted  the  change  to 
employers  as  individuals.  The  American  Lithographers' 
Association  took  no  action,  but  it  was  known  that  there 
was  developing  a  growing  sentiment  among  its  members 
against  unionism. 

The  Lithographers'  Association  of  the  United  States, 
and  especially  those  members  in  New  York  City,  very 
early  began  to  deal  with  the  unions,  and,  as  an  associa- 
tion, virtually  gave  them  recognition  in  the  settlement  of 
disputes  which  arose  from  time  to  time.  At  times  agree- 
ments between  the  union  and  the  employer  or  employers 
involved  in  the  dispute   followed  the  settlement  of  the 


,2  Tin-  UTiiocRArmc  industry  [448 

clitTcrcnccs.  Tliese  agreements  covered  tlie  points  in  dis- 
pute and  usually  continued  in  oj^eration  for  a  year.  The 
former  Lithog^rapliic  Association  of  the  Metropolitan 
District  became  the  nucleus  of  the  Lithos^raphers'  Asso- 
ciation of  the  United  States  and  extended  its  policies  to 
the  entire  association. 

This  association  soon  bcc^an  to  pass  regulations  pro- 
tecting its  members  against  what  it  considered  to  be  the 
oppressive  rules  of  the  unions.  The  constitution  as  or- 
iginally adopted  did  not  mention  the  unions  per  sc,  but 
dealt  with  labor  questions  as  follows  : 

Article  VIII 
Dtspziies 
It  shall  be  the  aim  of  this  Association  to  avert  and  avoid 
as  far  as  possible  all  disputes  between  employers  and  em- 
ployees and  all  strikes  and  lockouts,  and  to  encouragfe  a  full 
discussion  of  all  alleg"ed  gfrievances  between  employees  and 
any  concern  in  which  members  of  this  Association  may  be 
interested,  and  to  endeaver  to  efTect  settlements,  if  possible, 
in  all  such  disputes. 

Article  VI 
Customs  and  Usages  of  Trade 
This  Association  shall  have  power  at  Association  meetings 
to  take  all  lawful  steps  and  proceedings  to  procure  uniformity 
and  certainty  and  reasonableness  in  the  customs  and  usagfes 
pertaining:  to  the  lithog^raphic  trade  and  to  lay  down  rules 
covering:  the  same. 

The  latter  article  was  soon  amended  by  providing  for 
an  apprentice  board 

to  have  charg:e  of  all  matters  relating:  to  apprentices  to  the 
trade,  considering:  the  question  in  all  its  details,  and  recom- 
mending: to  the  members   individually,  or  to  the   Board   of 


449]  -^^^  DEVELOPMENT  OF  ORGANIZATION  33 

Directors  such  action  as  they  may,  from  time  to  time,  con- 
sider advisable  or  for  the  best  interests  of  the  trade  at  large. 

Section  5.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Apprentice  Board  to 
divide,  or  apportion  amongst  the  members  of  the  Association 
such  total  number  of  apprentices  in  the  different  branches  of 
the  trade  as  may  be  determined  by  accepted  authority.  It 
shall  be  the  duty  of  each  member  of  the  Association  to  accept 
such  apportionment  and  to  employ  the  number  of  apprentices 
allotted  to  the  various  branches  in  his  establishment. 

This  was  a  direct  attempt  to  take  the  control  of  ap- 
prentices away  from  the  unions  and  give  it  to  the  em- 
ployers. Because  the  unions  were  able  to  control  the 
supply  of  available  men  they  were  able  to  increase  indi- 
vidual wages  merely  by  shifting  men  from  shop  to  shop. 
Union  officials  served  as  business  agents  for  their  mem- 
bers and  controlled  the  labor  market  in  the  lithographic 
industry  in  such  a  manner  that  employers  could  secure 
workmen  only  through  these  officials.  Upon  receipt  of 
a  request  for  men,  the  business  agents  were  able  to 
secure  increases  for  men  already  employed,  either  by 
shifting  them  from  the  shop  in  which  they  were  em- 
ployed to  the  one  needing  help,  or  by  threatening  to  do 
so  and  thus  forcing  an  increase  from  the  employer  as 
the  price  of  the  privilege  of  retaining  his  men.' 

This  practice  became  so  common  as  to  be  considered 
an  abuse   by   the   employers   and   steps   were   taken   to 

^  Even  as  late  as  1904  the  president  of  the  Central  Lithographic 
Trades  Council  said  in  an  address  to  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  convention : 

"  We  have  in  our  organization  an  employment  bureau,  through  which 
it  is  possible  to  control  the  trade.  Through  this  employment  bureau  it 
is  possible  to  secure  advances  every  time  a  change  is  made,  and  to  en- 
courage changes  from  shop  to  shop  and  from  city  to  city.  It  is  possible 
by  this  process  to  gain  advantage."  Proceedings  of  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A. 
Convention,  1904,  p.  79. 


.^  THF.  LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [450 

counteract  it.  On  June  10,  1902,  tlie  association  passed 
a  resolution  prohibiting  any  of  its  members  from  em- 
ploying at  a  higher  rate  than  he  was  accustomed  to 
receive,  any  workman  who  had  been  in  the  employ  of 
another  member  of  the  association.  The  resolution  also 
prohibited  increasing  the  wages  of  such  workman  within 
one  year  after  entering  upon  his  employment.'  This 
rule  was  amended  on  July  30,  1902,  by  adding:  "Pro- 
vided in  any  case  a  member  shall  be  at  liberty  to  pay 
the  minimum  present  union  wages  for  the  work  for 
which  a  man  is  employed." 

On  the  same  date,  July  30,  1902,  a  further  step  was 
taken  to  prevent  an  increase  of  wages  by  the  concerted 
action  of  the  men  in  a  particular  shop  by  passing  a  reso- 
lution authorizing  the  blacklisting  of  such  men." 

However,  it  should  be  noted  that  the  conditions  which 
necessitated  the  passage  of  these  regulations  were  not 

*This  resolution  read  as  follows: 

"  Resolved ;  That  any  employee  who  for  any  reason  leaves,  is  dis- 
charged or  laid  off  in  any  shop,  shall  not  in  the  shop  of  another  member 
of  this  Association  receive  within  one  year  from  such  time  more  wages 
than  the  largest  wages  he  was  paid  in  his  last  situation,  and  no  member 
of  this  Association  shall  in  any  manner  whatsoever  pay  to  any  such  em- 
ployee within  one  year  from  beginning  of  his  employment  in  the 
establishment  of  any  member  of  the  Association  more  wages  than  the 
largest  wages  paid  to  him  in  his  last  situation. 

"  It  is  incumbent  on  every  member  of  this  Association  to  inquire  of 
the  Business  Manager  and  find  out  what  wages  were  paid  to  the  person 
asking  employment." 

*The  resolution  read  as  follows: 

"  Resolved :  That  in  cases  where  the  Business  Manager  considers  that 
the  interests  of  the  Association  require  it,  he  is  authorized,  in  his 
discretion,  to  notify  all  or  any  of  the  members  of  the  Association  that 
he  or  they  must  not  employ,  on  any  terms,  men  who  are,  or  have  been 
working  in  some  particular  shop;  and  in  all  cases  where  such  discretion 
is  exercised  the  Business  Manager  shall  make  a  full  report  of  the  facts 
to  the  Board  of  Directors." 


451]  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  ORGANIZATION  35 

due  entirely  to  union  influences.  It  was  a  common  prac- 
tice for  employers  to  offer  higher  wages  in  order  to 
secure  the  services  of  the  employees  of  their  competitors 
whenever  it  was  advantageous  to  do  so.  This  practice 
extended  to  all  grades  of  employees.  For  example,  on 
April  22,  1903,  a  resolution  was  passed  prohibiting  any 
member  of  the  association  from  negotiating  for  the  ser- 
vices of  any  salesman  or  confidential  clerk  in  the  employ 
of  another  member  without  first  conferring,  through  the 
office  of  the  association,  with  such  other  member. 

The  limitations  placed  upon  the  hiring  of  men  tended 
to  defeat  their  own  purposes  in  some  instances,  and  on 
August  19,  1903,  amendatory  resolutions  were  passed 
permitting  the  transfer  of  journeymen  from  one  shop  to 
another  at  higher  wages  than  they  had  been  receiving 
provided  they  were  transferred  in  good  faith  to  higher 
positions,  such  as  foremen  or  superintendents.  Even 
these  amendatory  resolutions  recognized  the  proprietary 
interest  of  the  employer  in  his  workmen  and  required 
that  such  employer  be  first  notified,  through  the  office 
of  the  association,  before  his  workmen  could  be  taken 
from  him. 

Under  the  system  of  wage  bargaining'  which  obtained 
at  this  time,  the  employers  were  at  a  double  disadvan- 
tage. By  competing  with  each  other  for  all  workmen 
in  the  industry,  the  employed  as  well  as  the  unemployed, 
they  were  placing  a  premium  upon  resignations  and 
changes  from  shop  to  shop.  Each  change  weakened  the 
bargaining  power  of  the  employer.  At  the  same  time, 
six  unions  in  the  industry  were  using  their  utmost  ef- 
forts, first  to  strengthen  the  bargaining  power  of  their 

^  Comprehending  in  this  term  the  determination  of  all  labor  conditions 
in  the  industry. 


^6  THE  UTIIOGRAPIIIC  INDUSTRY  [452 

members  generally  by  narrowly  restricting  the  number 
of  men  in  their  respective  branches  of  tiie  industry ;  and 
second,  to  gain  advantage  for  individual  members — and 
ultimatelv  for  all  members — by  permittting  changes  from 
shop  to  shop  only  upon  the  payment  of  increased  wages. 


CHAPTER  II 
Mutual  Government  Defined 

Previous  to  1902,  each  of  the  employers'  associations 
was  officered  by  employers,  with  an  office  assistant  of  one 
of  the  prominent  members  as  secretary.  This  plan  caused 
dissatisfaction  among  some  of  the  members.  The  growing 
strength  of  the  unions  and  the  increase  in  their  demands 
added  to  this  dissatisfaction  and  an  effort  was  made  to  place 
the  management  of  the  Lithographers'  Association  of  the 
United  States  in  the  hands  of  some  one  man  who  could  be 
entirely  impartial  in  dealing  with  employers  and  who  at  the 
same  time  could  offer  a  solution  for  the  labor  problems  of 
the  industry.  With  this  end  in  view,  the  association  elected 
as  secretary  and  manager  a  man  who  had  been  prominent  in 
the  activities  of  the  Franklin  Club — better  known  as  the 
Printers'  Board  of  Trade.  This  man  had  no  business  con- 
nections with  the  lithographic  industry.  He  was  elected 
by  the  members  of  the  association  and  was  responsible  to 
them  and  not  to  a  committee  or  group  of  officers. 

The  growing  strength  of  the  unions  demonstrated  to  the 
employers,  both  West  and  East,  the  need  for  unity  of  ac- 
tion and  the  new  manager  succeeded  in  effecting  a  working 
agreement  between  the  two  associations  to  govern  labor 
questions.  In  other  matters  the  associations  retained  their 
separate  identities.  Under  this  agreement  the  name  of  the 
American  Lithographers'  Association  was  changed  to  Lith- 
ographers' Association  (West)  and  the  Lithographers'  As- 
sociation of  the  United  States  became  the  Lithographers' 
453]  Z7 


.S  TNI-  LITHOGRAPIIIC  INDUSTRY  [454 

Association  (East).  A  new  group  was  added,  to  include 
the  employers  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  The  name  given  to  this 
group  was  Lithographers'  Association  (Pacific).  In  reality 
this  group  was  a  part  of  the  Lithographers'  Association 
( East )  but  it  took  a  separate  name  to  maintain  harmony 
with  the  Lithographers'  Association  (West). 

The  new  manager  of  the  association  dominated  its  labor 
policy  for  nearly  four  years.  He  introduced  into  the  in- 
dustry a  plan  for  the  settlement  of  labor  troubles  which 
he  called  "  Mutual  government."  He  believed  all  employ- 
ers should  be  members  of  one  association  and  all  employees 
should  be  members  of  another  and  that  the  two  should  then 
legislate  for  the  entire  industry.  He  did  not  believe  in 
definitive  agreements,  but  in  agreements  which  would  es- 
tablish only  the  machinery  for  determining  working  con- 
ditions. This  machinery,  once  provided  for,  would  make 
the  laws  and  enforce  them. 

Pie  began  his  campaign  for  such  agreements  in  New 
York  City  and  in  September,  1902,  he  presented  to  the 
L.  L  P.  and  B.  A.  a  draft  of  an  agreement  which  he  pro- 
posed should  govern  the  relations  of  this  union  to  the 
members  of  the  Lithographers'  Association  (East)  whose 
establishments  were  situated  in  Greater  New  York.^  He 
proposed  that  all  labor  conditions  in  the  industry  be  deter- 
mined by  a  joint  commission  of  thirteen  members:  five 
members  of  the  union  and  five  employers,  to  be  elected  by 
their  respective  organizations;  the  business  agents  of  the 
union  and  the  association ;  and  an  impartial  umpire  selected 
by  the  other  members  of  the  commission. 

This  joint  commission  was  to  have  power  to  "  settle  and 
determine  all  matters  of  mutual  concern  "  arising  between 
the  employers  in  Greater  New  York  and  the  union.     Regu- 

1  For  text  of  this  proposed  agreement,  see  Lithographers'  Bulletin, 
July,  1903,  pp.  20-21. 


455]  MUTUAL  GOVERNMENT  DEFINED  ^g 

lar  meetings  were  to  be  held  on  the  first  Friday  of  January, 
April,  July  and  October;  special  meetings  could  be  called 
at  any  time  by  the  clerk  of  the  commission  or  by  either  busi- 
ness agent.  At  the  January  meeting  it  was  proposed  that 
the  commission  would  agree  upon  the  "Annual  Bulletin  " 
"  to  guide  and  govern  both  employers  and  workmen  during 
the  year,  and  to  comprehend  such  particulars  as  rates  of 
wages,  hours  of  labor,  payment  for  overtime,  payment  for 
holiday  work,  government  of  apprentices,  and  similar  ques- 
tions of  joint  concern." 

All  decisions  of  the  commission  were  to  be  final  and  not 
subject  to  reconsideration  for  at  least  one  year,  except  by 
the  written  consent  of  all  members  of  the  commission.  The 
business  agents  had  the  right  to  attend  all  meetings  and  to 
be  heard  on  all  questions,  but  they  had  no  vote.  All  ques- 
tions except  those  involving  changes  in  the  rules  of  pro- 
cedure, which  required  a  three-fourths  vote,  were  to  be 
decided  by  majority  vote.  The  constitution  of  the  com- 
mission could  be  amended  only  by  the  concurrent  action  of 
the  association  and  the  union.  The  umpire  had  no  vote 
except  in  case  of  a  tie.  After  he  had  given  his  decision 
in  such  a  case,  the  same  question  could  not  be  reconsidered 
within  the  year. 

It  was  planned  that  this  commission  should  be  a  court  of 
appeals.  All  grievances  were  to  be  submitted  first  to  the 
business  agents  of  the  association  and  the  union.  If  these 
two  officials  were  unable  to  agree  upon  a  settlement  or  if 
their  decision  was  not  satisfactory  to  the  interested  parties, 
appeal  could  be  made  to  the  commission  at  its  regular  ses- 
sion or  at  a  special  meeting  called  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
sidering the  grievance.  At  such  meeting  the  commission 
was  to  have  power  to  require  the  presence  of  witnesses  and 
the  production  of  papers  in  order  to  secure  all  evidence  in 
the  case.     All  parties  were  to  be  given  full  opportunity  to 


40  THE  LlThlOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [456 

be  heard;  after  which  the  decision  of  the  commission  was 
tt.>  he  final  and  hinchni;.  Pendintj^  the  hnal  settlement  of 
any  grievance,  strikes  and  lockouts  were  to  be  prohibited. 

Upon  receipt  of  this  proposal,  the  New  York  local  of 
the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  appointed  a  committee  to  examine  the 
plan  and  report  to  the  union.  On  October  27,  1902,  the 
Lithoc^raphers'  Association  (East)  was  notified  that  the 
committee 

disapproves  of  the  proposed  plan  or  any  other  of  a  similar 
character,  and  the  report  of  said  committee  has  been  approved 
by  the  Association. 

Among  the  objections  to  the  proposed  plan,  we  desire  to 
say,  that  before  entering  into  any  such  agreement  as  is  sug- 
gested by  your  Association,  it  would  be  necessary  to  amend 
the  constitution  of  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  of  the  United  States 
and  Canada,  and  also  the  constitution  of  Subordinate  Asso- 
ciation No.  I,  of  New  York,  in  several  important  parts.  These 
amendments  could  not  be  made  without  very  serious  incon- 
venience to  both  bodies,  if  at  all.  It  would  also  take  from 
the  General  Association  the  right  of  review  of  the  action  of 
S.  A.  No.  I,  and  would  take  from  S.  A.  the  right  of  super- 
vision and  control  over  matters  most  vitally  involving  its  own 
interest,  and  vest  in  five  of  its  members  absolute  power  and 
authority,  without  appeal  therefrom,  to  determine  any  and  all 
questions,  and  deprive  the  Association  of  all  power  in  the 
premises.  Under  this  plan,  in  the  event  of  a  controversy 
arising  between  your  Association  and  S.  A.  No.  i,  if  the  five 
delegates  representing  your  Association  should  espouse  one 
side  of  the  controversy,  and  the  delegates  of  S.  A.  No.  i 
should  espouse  the  other  side,  the  final  determination  of  the 
issue  presented  would  be  placed  in  the  absolute  power  of  one 
person,  the  umpire  chosen  'by  the  commission  itself. 

The  proposed  plan  is  further  objectionable,  for  the  reason 
that  it  involves  entirely  too  much  red  tape,  and  the  procedure 
suggested  for  the  determination  of  any  controversy  which  may 


457]  MUTUAL  GOVERNMENT  DEFINED  41 

arise  is  entirely  and  unnecessarily  involved  and  cannot  avoid 
long  and  vexatious  delays.  We  desire  to  say  further  that  for  a 
period  of  upwards  of  twenty  years  the  Lithographers'  Asso- 
ciation of  New  York  (the  union)  has  had  no  serious  or  violent 
controversy  with  the  employing  lithographers  which  has  not 
yielded  readily  to  the  fair  and  honest  treatment  which  this 
Association  and  its  members  have  invariably  accorded  the 

employers 

For  the  foregoing  reasons  we  must  respectfully  decline  to 
accept  your  proposed  plan,  and  will  continue  to  pursue  in  the 
future  the  course  we  have  pursued  in  the  past.^ 

This  reply  is  typical  of  the  attitude  of  the  unions  toward 
agreements  of  any  sort  at  this  time.  The  determination, 
expressed  in  the  closing  sentence,  to  "  continue  to  pursue  in 
the  future  the  same  course  we  have  pursued  in  the  past " 
meant  that  the  union  recognized  its  superior  strength  and 
expected  to  continue  to  dictate  terms  to  the  employers. 

At  about  the  same  time,  the  employers'  association  ap- 
proached the  Poster  Artists'  Association  for  the  purpose  of 
reaching  an  agreement  and  met  with  about  the  same  treat- 
ment. At  a  conference  between  the  union  and  the  associa- 
tion, held  October  10,  1902,  the  following  resolutions  were 
adopted : 

Resolved :  It  is  the  sense  of  this  meeting  that  the  two  asso- 
ciations desire  to  operate  in  harmony  and  to  co-operate  in 
every  way  possible,  recognizing  each  other  as  proper  and  re- 
sponsible parties  to  represent  and  to  act  for  the  members  of 
each. 

Resolved :  It  is  the  sense  of  this  meeting  that  the  setting  up 
of  a  joint  body,  with  the  power  to  adjust  differences  and  to 
determine  questions  of  mutual  concern  arising  in  Greater  New 
York,  would  be  desirable  and  we  recommend  the  appointment 

1  Lithographers'  Bulletin,  July  i,  1903,  p.  22.  This  Bulletin  was  the 
official  organ  of  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  at  this  time. 


^j  THE  LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [458 

of  coniiiiittcos   for  cacli   association  to   confer  together  and 
devise  a  plan  for  establishing  such  a  joint  body. 

The  plan  proposed  by  the  employers'  association  was  very 
similar  to  that  offered  to  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  The  agree- 
ment was  to  be  so  drawn  that  strikes  and  lockouts  would 
be  prevented  and  that  all  disputes  would  be  referred  to  a 
joint  commission  for  adjustment.  In  a  letter  from  the 
secretary  of  the  Lithographers'  Association  (East)  to  the 
president  of  the  Poster  Artists'  Association,  dated  Decem- 
ber 21,  1902,  it  was  proposed  that 

At  the  regular  meeting  of  the  Commission  in  January  of 
each  year,  the  special  business  shall  be  to  establish  what  shall 
be  known  as  the  "Annual  Bulletin,"  to  guide  and  govern  both 
employers  and  workmen  during  the  year. 

Meanwhile  a  plan  was  on  foot  to  consolidate  the  capital 
of  the  poster  printers  and  to  form  one  large  corporation  or 
poster  trust.  This  plan  was  enthusiastically  supported  by 
the  poster  artists,  since  it  was  proposed  that  their  union 
should  have  direct  representation  in  the  management  of  the 
new  corporation.  In  other  words,  it  was  to  be  a  combin- 
ation of  both  capital  and  one  branch  of  labor,  giving  to 
each  a  share  in  the  control  of  the  business  affairs  of  the  in- 
dustry. Hence,  while  the  Poster  Artists'  Association  was 
discussing  agreements  with  the  Lithographers'  Association 
(East),  it  was  deferring  action  in  the  hope  of  consolidating 
into  a  separate  organization  that  group  of  the  employers  in 
whom  its  members  were  directly  interested.  Perceiving  this 
movement,  the  Lithographers'  Association  managed  to  frus- 
trate the  plan  and  the  Poster  Artists'  Association  was  noti- 
fied that  all  labor  questions  affecting  the  poster  printers  must 
be  referred  to  the  Lithographers'  Association.  Thereupon 
the  union  ceased  to  take  part  in  joint  conferences  and  evaded 
proposals  for  agreements  of  any  kind. 


459]  MUTUAL  GOVERNMENT  DEFINED  43 

Efforts  at  agreement  were  continued  by  the  employers  and 
on  January  9,  1903,  the  manager  of  the  employers'  associa- 
tion addressed  to  the  general  president  of  the  L.  I.  P.  and 
B.  A.  the  following  request : 

My  dear  Sir: — A  special  committee  from  our  Association 
desires  to  meet  yourself  and  the  National  Executive  Board  of 
your  Association,  with  the  view  of  discussing,  informally,  cer- 
tain trade  conditions  of  interest  to  both  associations.  .  .  ^ 

Such  a  conference  was  granted  by  the  union  with  the 
understanding  among  its  officers  that  no  agreement  would 
be  signed.  The  committee  met  on  January  15,  1903,  and 
after  some  discussion  of  a  case  in  which  an  employer  in 
Buffalo  had  violated  the  union  rules  regarding  apprentice- 
ship, the  spokesman  for  the  employers  presented  the  follow- 
ing resolution,  which  was  adopted  without  opposition : 

Resolved  that  a  conference  be  arranged  between  a  national 
committee  from  the  Lithographers'  Association  of  the  United 
States  and  the  General  Executive  Board  of  the  L.  I.  P.  and 
B.  A.  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  for  the  purpose  of 
formulating  a  national  apprentice  plan  satisfactory  to  both 
employers  and  employees,  this  plan  to  be  afterwards  sub- 
mitted to  both  associations  for  ratification.^ 

The  union  regulation  of  apprenticeship  at  this  time  was 
as  follows : 

Constitution  of  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A. 

ARTICLE    XVI 

Section  i.  Apprentices  shall  be  governed  as  follows:  To 
every  five  journeymen  or  fractional  part  thereof, — not  in  each 
branch  of  the  business,  but  in  any  single  branch,  providing 
five  journeymen  are  employed;  or  in  smaller  establishments 

1  Lithographers'  Bulletin,  December  i,  1903,  p.  9. 
^Ibid.,  p.  10. 


TIIR  LITIIOCRAPIIIC  INDUSTRY 


[460 


44 

whore  only  five  jounicyincn  are  employed,  brandies  may  be 
combined  to  admit  of  one  apprentice,  but  not  an  apprentice 
in  eacli  branch. 


apprc 


ntices  shall  be  allowed   for  every     12  journeymen 

18 
30 

45 

75 

"  "  "  ICO 


The  constitution  of  the  employers'  association  provided 
at  this  time  for  an  apprentice  board  to  have  supervision 
over  all  matters  relating  to  apprentices  and  to  recommend  to 
the  members  of  the  association  such  action  as  the  board 
deemed  advisable  for  the  best  interests  of  the  industry/ 

^  As  amended  November  19,  1902,  the  article  reads  as  follows : 
Article  VI 
Apprentices 

"  Section  i.  At  the  annual  meeting  in  January  of  each  year  there  shall 
be  elected  a  board  of  five  (5)  members,  to  be  known  as  the  Apprentice 
Board.  Their  term  of  service  shall  be  for  one  year  or  until  their  suc- 
cessors are  elected. 

"Section  2.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Apprentice  Board  to  have  charge 
of  all  matters  relating  to  apprentices  to  the  trade,  considering  the  ques- 
tion in  all  its  details,  and  recommending  to  the  members  individually,  or 
to  the  Board  of  Directors,  such  action  as  they  may  from  time  to  time 
consider  advisable,  or  for  the  best  interests  of  the  trade  at  large. 

"Section  3.  The  Apprentice  Board  shall  devise  and  recommend'  proper 
forms  of  indenture  for  apprentices,  and  shall  have  power  to,  from  time 
to  time,  recommend  such  changes  in  the  same  as  may  appear  to  them 
desirable.  Such  forms  of  indenture,  when  approved  by  the  Association, 
shall  be  used  by  all  members  of  the  Association,  and  no  apprentice  shall 
be  engaged  by  any  member  excepting  under  its  terms. 

"  Section  4.  Previously  to  the  employment  of  any  apprentice  it  shall 
be  the  duty  of  each  member  to  confer  with  the  Apprentice  Board  to 
receive  its  recommendation,  unless  by  so  doing,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
member,  a  material  injury  may  be  done  to  his  business.  In  thL.t  event, 
the  matter  must  be  referred  to  the  Board  of  Directors,  whose  decision 
shall  be  final  and  binding  upon  the  matter. 

"  Section  5.     It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Apprentice  Board  to  divide  or 


461]  MUTUAL  GOVERNMENT  DEFINED  45 

This  board  also  had  power  to  apportion  apprentices  among 
the  members  of  the  association  in  whatever  manner  it  saw 
fit.  The  decisions  of  the  board  were  subject  to  revision  by 
the  board  of  directors. 

The  conference  provided  for  at  the  meeting  on  January 
15  was  held  February  21,  1903.  At  this  confetence  the  em- 
ployers contended 

that  during  the  past  few  years  the  typographic  trade  has  been 
largely  increased  at  the  expense  of  the  lithographic  trade 
through  the  existing  onerous  conditions,  which  conditions  were 
largely  caused  by  restrictions  upon  output  through  (a)  scar- 
city of  workmen,  (b)  inferior  ability  of  apprentice  graduates, 
and  (c)  uncertainty  of  amicable  relations  between  employer 
and  employee,  preventing  stability  of  contract  with  the  pro- 
ducer.^ 

It  was  shown  that  in  71  establishments  which  employed 
447  journeymen  transferrers,  only  91  apprentices  were 
found.  This  made  possible  one  graduate  apprentice  to  each 
20  journeymen  annually.  In  the  same  establishments  438 
journeymen  pressmen  and  but  71  apprentices  were  employed ; 
making  possible  only  one  graduate  apprentice  to  25  journey- 
men each  year.^  Statistics  collected  by  the  union  showed 
that  in  the  entire  industry  the  ratio  was  approximately  one 

apportion  among  the  members  of  the  Association  such  total  number  of 
apprentices  in  the  different  branches  of  the  trade  as  may  be  determined 
by  accepted  authority.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  each  member  of  the  As- 
sociation to  accept  such  apportionment  and  to  employ  the  number  of 
apprentices  allotted  to  the  various  branches  of  his  establishment. 

"  Section  6.  Should  there  at  any  time  arise  a  difference  between  any 
member  of  the  Association  and  the  Apprentice  Board  concerning  the 
policy  to  be  pursued,  or  regarding  a  decision  of  the  Board,  the  matter 
shall  be  referred  to  the  Board  of  Directors  for  settlement.  All  actions 
or  decisions  of  the  Apprentice  Board  shall  be  subject  to  revision  by  the 
Board  of  Directors." 

^Lithographer^  Bulletin,  December  i,  1903,  p.  10.  '^ Ibid.,  p.  10. 


46  THE  LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [462 

to  23  for  transferrers  and  one  to  25  for  pressmen.'  The 
employers'  claims  were  further  supported  by  the  following 
statement  of  the  amount  of  overtime  worked  in  64  shops 
during  1901  and  1902.  These  statistics  were  collected  by 
the  unions  from  representative  shops."  Overtime  is  cal- 
culated on  a  regular  work-week  basis  of  53  or  more  hours. 
In  1901  the  pressmen  worked  75,483  hours  overtime  and 
the  transferrers  and  provers  worked  79,970  hours  over- 
time; in  1902  the  amounts  were  81,085  and  86,468  re- 
spectively.^ This  meant  that  pressmen,  transferrers  and 
provers  in  these  shops  averaged  approximately  200  hours 
per  year  overtime  for  which  they  received  wages  at  the  rate 
of  time  and  a  half.  Fifty-three  of  the  64  shops  reporting 
stated  that  they  had  difficulty  in  securing  a  sufficient  supply 
of  men  during  busy  times,  while  23  had  difficulty  during 
dull  times  even.  Forty-nine  gave  as  the  reason  for  such 
difficulty  the  apprenticeship  regulations  of  the  union.* 

In  spite  of  this  demonstrated  shortage  of  journeymen, 
the  February  conference  accomplished  no  definite  results. 
The  only  concession  offered  by  the  union  was  the  following 
proposal : 

That  all  grievances  which  may  arise  be  placed  before  a  joint 
commission  to  be  elected  by  the  two  respective  bodies  as  such 
grievance  arises ;  the  decision  of  said  joint  commission  shall 
not  be  final  or  binding  on  either  party  unless  ratified  by  both 
associations.  In  the  event  of  the  failure  to  agree  on  the  part 
of  the  two  associations,  the  question  at  issue  shall  be  submitted 
to  arbitration,  provided  that  both  associations  agree  to  do  so, 
and  the  results  of  such  decision  to  be  final  and  binding  to 
both  associations. 

1  Proceedings  Eighth  Regular  Convention  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  (in  ms.) 
p.  48^. 
*Ibid.,  p.  so'A.  .  ""Ibid.,  p.  50^. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  so'A. 


^^2]  MUTUAL  GOVERNMENT  DEFINED  47 

This  was  refused  by  the  employers  as  meaningless  and 
as  not  being  aimed  at  the  prevention  of  strikes.  The  union 
members  then  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  their  employers.  Instead 
of  relaxing  their  apprenticeship  regulations,  they  continued 
their  former  policy  aqd  renewed  their  efforts  to  unionize 
shops  heretofore  non-union.  Considerable  correspondence 
was  exchanged,  and  in  a  letter  of  April  3,  1903,  the  em- 
ployers asked  for  another  conference,  stating  that : 

This  is  outside  our  negotiations,  which  are  at  present  incom- 
plete, regarding  the  apprentice  question.  The  conference  we 
now  ask  for  will  probably  lay  the  foundation  for  combining 
any  agreement  we  may  arrive  at  on  the  apprentice  question 
with  other  questions  of  national  importance.^ 

This  letter  was  ignored  entirely  by  the  union.  Several 
others  followed  and  finally  a  two  days'  conference  was  ar- 
ranged, to  begin  May  5,  1903.  The  following  recommen- 
dations and  resolutions  were  passed  unanimously  at  this 
conference : 

RATIO   OF   APPRENTICES 

Transfer  Department 
Establishments  employing  not  less  than     3  journeymen,  i  apprentice. 


7 

'             2  apprentices. 

12            ' 

3 

18 

4 

27 

5 

One  additional  apprentice  to  each  6  additional  journeymen  above  30. 
The  ratio  of  apprentices  for  provers  to  be  the  same  as  for  transferrers. 

Printing  Department 

Establishments  employing  2  and  not  less  than  7  journeymen,  i  apprentice. 
"  "  "      "      "    14  "  2  apprentices. 

"      "      "    19  "  3 

"      "      "    34  "  4 

One  additional  apprentice  to  each  6  additional  journeymen. 

'^Lithographers'  Bulletin,  December  i,  1903,  p.  12. 


48  THE  LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [464 

Joint  Apprentice  Boards 

I-ocal  joint  aj^prcnticc  lioards.  to  be  composed  "  of  an  equal 
number  of  employers  doing  business  in  tlie  city  in  which  the 
board  has  jurisdiction  and  the  resident  members  of  the  sub- 
ordinate association  of  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  having  jurisdic- 
tion in  that  city,"  were  recommended.  These  boards  were  to 
have  "  charge  of  all  matters  relating  to  the  employment  of 
apprentices  within  their  jurisdiction";  and  "to  insist  that 
each  establishment  w-ithin  its  jurisdiction  shall  at  all  times 
employ  the  full  number  of  indentured  apprentices." 

Term  of  Apprenticeship 

Provers,  transferrers  and  pressmen  to  be  apprenticed  for 
four  years  or  until  twenty-one  years  of  age. 

Minimum  Weekly  Pa^ynient  of  Apprentices 

Provers        Transferrers  Pressmen 

First  6  months  $5.00  $5.00  $12.00 

2nci     "        "  6.00  6.00  13.00 

3rd     "        "  7-00  7.00  14.00 

4th     "        "  8.00  8.00  14.00 

5th     "        "  9.00  9.00  15.00 

6th     "        "  10.00  10.00  15.00 

7th     "        "  12.00  12.00  17.00 

8th     "        "  14.00  14.00  17.00 

Shorter  Hours 

The  employers  contended  that  because  of  foreign  compe- 
tition, competition  by  processes  other  than  lithography,  and 
the  existing  scarcity  of  men  on  a  53  hour  basis,  it  would  be 
impossible  to  reduce  the  hours  immediately.  No  conclusion 
was  reached  by  the  conference  concerning  this  matter. 

Overtime 

Fifty-three  hours  to  constitute  a  week's  work  and  overtime 
to  be  compensated  at  time  and  a  half.  Sundays  and  national 
or  state  holidays  to  be  paid  at  double  time. 


465]  MUTUAL  GOVERNMENT  DEFINED  ^g 

Prevention  of  Wage  Increases 

On  June  18,  1902,  the  Lithographers'  Association  had  passed 
a  law  preventing  a  member  from  paying  more  to  a  new  em- 
ployee than  he  had  received  in  his  previous  position.  The 
employers  explained  that  the  object  of  this  law  was,  "  first, 
to  prevent  employers  from  taking  unfair  advantage  of  each 
other ;  second,  to  prevent  manipulation  of  the  help  by  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  employees."  The  employers  assented  to 
the  following  resolutions : 

Resolved,  It  is  the  sense  of  this  conference  that  the  rule 
should  be  modified  so  that  the  right  of  employees  to  earn 
better  wages  should  not  be  curtailed. 

Resolved,  That  the  Lithographers'  Association  (East  and 
West)  will  carry  out  the  foregoing  resolutions,  provided  the 
union  will  stop  all  manipulation  of  the  help. 

Preferential  Shop 

It  was  voted  that  "  preference  in  employment  shall  be  given 
to  members  of  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.,  and  preference  shall  be 
given  to  members  of  the  Lithographers'  Association  (East 
and  West)  in  the  employment  of  help." 

Blacklist 

It  was  agreed  that  "  no  blacklisting  or  discrimination  of 
members  be  countenanced  by  either  association  or  their  indi- 
vidual members  because  of  any  association  work  done  by  any 
member." 

Arbitration 

Arbitration  of  disputes  in  order  to  prevent  strikes  and  lock- 
outs was  discussed,  but  because  of  the  union  opposition  to  the 
principle  of  the  proposal  no  definite  plan  was  formulated.^ 

It  was  agreed  by  all  the  conferees  to  submit  the  above 
resolutions  to  the  two  associations  and  to  recommend  their 

1  Lithographers'  Bulletin,  December  i,  1903,  pp.  13-14. 


50  THE  LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [466 

aiU^ption.  The  employers  adopted  thcni,  after  modifying 
two  clauses  CDiiceniiiig  apprenticeship  :  one  to  raise  the  ratio 
in  very  small  shops,  and  the  other  to  leave  to  local  apprentice 
boards  the  determination  of  wage  rates  for  apprentices. 
The  union  rejected  the  resolutions.  Correspondence  con- 
tinued tliroughout  the  year  and  periodic  joint  conferences 
were  held  to  settle  specific  disputed  questions  which  resulted 
in  strikes. 

While  negotiations  were  still  in  progress  with  the  na- 
tional union,  the  New  York  local  presented  independent  de- 
mands to  their  employers  for  an  increase  in  the  minimum 
scale  to  transferrers  from  $20.00  to  $25.00  per  week  and 
for  other  minor  concessions.  Thereupon  the  New  York 
members  of  the  Lithographers'  Association  (East)  turned 
their  attention  to  this  local  and,  on  October  9,  1903,  ad- 
dressed to  its  president  a  long  statement  ^  in  which  the  prin- 
ciples of  "  mutual  government "  were  reviewed  and  in 
which  a  request  for  a  joint  conference  on  the  demands  pre- 
sented by  the  union  was  made. 

The  New  York  local  granted  this  request,  contrary  to  the 
advice  of  the  president  of  the  national  union,  and,  after 
slight  modification  of  the  plan  offered  by  the  employers, 
reached  a  settlement "  on  October  30,  1903,  which  was  after- 
ward ratified  by  the  local  and  by  the  New  York  members 
of  the  employers'  association.  The  agreement  provided  for 
the  establishment  of  temporary  joint  commissions  to  settle 
all  differences  arising  between  the  two  parties,  such  com- 
mission to  l)e  elected  at  the  time  the  difference  arose.  It 
was  further  agreed  that  if  such  commission  failed  in  its  pur- 
pose, the  differences  would  be  submitted  to  arbitration  and 
that  the  decision  of  the  arbitrators  would  be  final  and  bind- 

'  See  National  Lithographer,  February,  1904,  p.  5. 
2  Ibid.,  p.  6. 


467]  MUTUAL  GOVERNMENT  DEFINED  ^I 

ing.  Pending  the  settlement  of  differences,  work  was  to 
continue  without  interruption. 

After  the  agreement  was  ratified  by  both  of  the  organiza- 
tions, the  general  executive  board  of  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A. 
declared  that  local  unions  were  forbidden  by  the  national 
constitution  to  accept  any  form  of  arbitration  without  the 
consent  of  the  national  union  and  that  consequently  the 
agreement  was  void/ 

Following  this  decision,  the  employers,  at  a  meeting  of 
their  national  association,  agreed  to  insist  upon  arbitration 
of  disputes  and,  on  January  28,  1904,  the  national  officers  of 
the  employers'  association  issued  to  the  officers  of  all  national 
unions  and  of  all  local  unions  in  New  York  City  a  detailed 
statement "  of  grievances  which  was  couched  in  friendly 
terms  but  which  nevertheless  carried  the  definite  implication 
that  the  employers  believed  they  were  strongly  enough  or- 
ganized to  test  the  power  of  the  unions  to  continue  to  dictate 
labor  conditions  in  the  lithographic  industry. 

Apparently  the  employers  were  beginning  to  learn  the 
lesson  of  organization.  Their  insistent  requests  for  mutual 
government  were  made  in  the  hope  that  the  unions  would 
consent  to  give  their  employers  a  voice  in  the  determination 
of  the  terms  of  the  labor  contract.  The  lack  of  response 
which  these  requests  met  showed  the  employers  the  futility  of 
depending  upon  requests  alone.  As  individuals  they  could 
expect  but  poor  bargains  from  their  well  organized  em- 
ployees. *     This  truth  they  were  beginning  to  perceive.     Yet 

1  Lithographers^  Bulletin,  December  I,  1903,  p.  30. 

2  See  National  Lithographer,  February,  1904,  pp.  6-7. 

*  The  writer  recognizes,  of  course,  that  laborers  can  never  have  an 
absolute  advantage  in  their  dealings  with  their  employers :  that  whereas 
labor's  refusal  to  work  threatens  only  the  profits  of  capital,  capital's 
refusal  to  permit  labor  to  earn  wages  threatens  the  very  lives  of  the 


-_,  THH  LITIIOCRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [468 

the  lesson  which  it  tauj^lit  thcMU  was  not  well  learned.  It 
took  tour  years  more  of  bickering  and  unsettled  labor  con- 
ilitions  to  impress  upon  them  the  necessity  of  constant  pre- 
paredness for  the  protection  of  their  interests. 

workers.  Hence  in  this  monograph  labor's  advantage  has  definite  mean- 
ing only  as  a  measure  of  the  share  of  the  industry's  income  which  the 
workers  arc  able  to  exact  for  their  services. 


CHAPTER  III 

Mutual  Government  on  Trial 

The  unions  were  not  yet  ready  to  relinquish  to  their 
employers  any  of  the  power  which  they  had  been  ac- 
customed to  exercise.  Instead  of  accepting  the  prin- 
ciples of  mutual  government  as  defined  by  the  employers, 
the  unions  began  to  make  plans  for  defending  their  posi- 
tion as  dictators  of  labor  conditions  in  the  industry.  Up 
to  this  time  each  union  had  been  strong  enough,  even 
in  the  face  of  jurisdictional  fights,  to  deal  with  the  em- 
ployers without  resorting  to  the  expedient  of  joint  action. 

In  the  face  of  the  growing  strength  of  the  employers' 
association  the  unions  prepared  to  present  a  united  op- 
position to  the  demands  of  the  association.  Indeed  it 
appeared  for  a  time  that  the  unions,  as  well  as  the  em- 
ployers, were  beginning  to  learn  fully  the  lesson  of 
organization.  But  this  lesson,  only  half  learned  at  the 
beginning,  was  soon  forgotten ;  and  by  the  time  the 
mistake  was  realized,  it  was  too  late  to  correct  it. 

In  December,  1903,  representatives  of  the  local  unions 
in  New  York  City  met  and  passed  the  following  reso- 
tions : 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  representatives  of  the  various  asso- 
ciations, realizing  that  these  questions  are  of  national  impor- 
tance, do  herewith  recommend  to  our  respective  associations 
that  a  National  Joint  Committee  be  appointed,  this  Committee 
to  consist  of  three  representatives  from  each  General  Asso- 
ciation, who  shall  meet  to  discuss  the  advisability  of  drawing 
up  a  set  of  rules  governing  aflfiliation. 

469]  S3 


z^^  THE  IJTHOCJR.U'IllC  lADUSTRY  [4-0 

[t  is  further  reconiim'iulcfl  that  this  Gnninittee  meet  in  the 
city  of  r.utYalo.  no  later  than  February  ist,  1904. 

In  the  meantime,  the  unions  made  no  response  to  the 
circular  letter  from  the  employers'  association  inviting 
the  unions  to  a  joint  conference. 

The  suggestion  for  a  joint  committee  was  favorably 
received  by  the  national  unions  and  on  February  i,  1904, 
a  conference  was  held  at  Buffalo  at  which  all  unions  in 
the  industry  were  represented.  This  conference  adopted, 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  various  unions,  a  plan  for 
defensive  and  offensive  alliance.  The  articles  for  defense 
pledged  the  unions  to  support  each  other  in  any  difficulty 
which  might  arise  with  the  employers  and  to  refuse  to 
sign  any  agreement  which  deprived  the  unions  of  the 
right  to  strike. 

The  articles  of  offensive  alliance  provided  for  the  for- 
mation of  a  Central  Lithographic  Trades  Council  to 
consist  of  three  representatives  from  each  union  in  the 
industry.  In  this  council  each  union  was  to  retain  its 
"distinct  individuality,  and  at  no  time  be  compelled  to 
act  against  what  it  may  deem  its  own  interests."  It  was 
agreed  that  after  the  plan  was  ratified  no  union  could 
"  take  any  action  which  shall  result  in  a  strike,  without 
previously  placing  the  matter  before  the  Central  Litho- 
graphic Trades  Council  and  ascertaining  what  stand  the 
parties  to  this  agreement  will  take  in  relation  to  the 
questions  at  issue." 

On  February  6,  1904,  the  circular  letter  from  the 
Lithographers'  Association  to  the  unions  was  acknowl- 
edged by  the  union  officials  and  the  invitation  to  a  joint 
conference  was  accepted.  However,  the  unions  had  a 
secret  understanding  that  no  agreement  would  be  entered 
into    at    such    conference,    pending    ratification    by    the 


471  ]  MUTUAL  GOVERNMENT  ON  TRIAL  ^^ 

unions  of  the  plan  for  the  alliance  framed  at  the  Bufifalo 
conference.  The  joint  committee  of  unions  and  em- 
ployers met  on  February  8,  1904.  Finding  that  the 
unions  had  conspired  among  themselves  to  prevent  the 
acceptance  of  any  form  of  agreement,  the  employers' 
association  presented  the  following  ultimatum  at  this 
conference  on  February  12  : 

ULTIMATUM 

Resolved — That  the  Joint  Executive  Committee  represent- 
ing the  Lithographers'  Association  (East,  West  and  Pacific), 
having  heretofore  received  the  authority  from  said  Associa- 
tion so  to  act,  agrees  that  it  insist  upon  an  agreement  being 
drawn  and  executed,  on  or  before  March  15,  1904,  between 
the  (name  of  union)  and  the  Employers'  Association,  estab- 
lishing arbitration  and  eliminating  the  possibility  of  strikes 
and  lockouts,  and  that,  unless  such  an  agreement  is  reached 
by  the  date  named,  the  employers  will  proceed  to  deal  with 
their  employees  individually  and  not  through  the  Union. 

This  contract  to  be  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  one  year 
from  date  of  execution. 

At  this  time  there  were  124  employers  represented  in 
the  Lithographers'  Association.  On  February  13  the 
association  sent  a  letter  to  each  of  the  employees  of  these 
members,  urging  favorable  action  upon  the  proposal  for 
an  agreement  when  the  question  was  submitted  to  them 
by  their  unions.  To  counteract  the  effect  of  these  letters, 
the  union  officials  wrote  equally  strong  letters  opposing 
agreements.  For  example,  one  union  president  wrote 
his  members  as  follows  : 

Our  association,  and  all  others  in  the  lithographic  field,  are 
facing  a  crisis,  whose  issue  will  determine  whether  they,  as 
organizations,  are  to  survive  or  perish ;  whether  labor  is  to 
longer  establish  the  conditions  under  which  it  is  willing  to 


q6  TIIH  LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [472 

work  ;  or  whether  these  conditions  are  to  be  imposed  by  an 
arbitration  tribunal  or  by  the  employer. 

For  more  than  a  year  the  Lithog^raphers'  Association  of  the 
I'nitcil  States  lias  tried,  by  fair  means  and  foul,  to  establish 
what  it  terms  "  Mutual  Government  "  or  government  by  arbi- 
tration ;  and  failing,  it  has  issued  an  ultimatum,  setting  forth 
that  the  unions  MUST  enter  into  an  arbitration  agreement 
with  it  on,  or  before,  March  15th,  or  "  Employers  will  pro- 
ceed to  deal  with  employees  individually,  and  not  through  the 
union." 

To  consent  to  "Mutual  Government"  would  mean,  as  a 
first  consideration,  that  we  abandon  our  constitution;  not  only 
because  arbitration  and  our  governmental  principle,  "  Direct 
Legislation,"  are  opposed ;  but  "  Mutual  Government,"  ac- 
cording to  its  advocates,  does  not  recognize  constitutions.  In 
fact,  it  could  not  recognize  them,  since  the  Lithographers' 
Association  wishes  to  "  settle  all  differences  between  employer 
and  employee  "  thereby. 

All  our  constitutional  "demands";  the  abolition  of  piece- 
work, union  shop,  apprentice  system,  .  .  .  Saturday  half  holi- 
day, and  all,  represent  marked  "differences"  with  the  em- 
ployer. He  would  naturally  wish  to  see  them  abolished,  and 
he  could  submit  very  "  convincing  "  argument  to  his  arbitra- 
tion tribunal,  to  show  why  they  should  be  abolished.  His 
chance  of  winning  would  be  about  ten  to  one.  .  .  . 

Similar  communications  were  sent  out  by  the  officals 
of  the  other  unions,  all  of  which  emphasized  the  conflict 
of  "mutual  government"  and  "constitutions"  and  the 
failure  of  arbitration  in  the  past.  Especially  was  the 
decision  of  Bishop  Potter  in  1896  referred  to  as  a  striking 
example  of  a  fair  award,  but  it  was  claimed  that  the  em- 
ployers subsequently  ignored  its  provisions  because  it 
favored  the  contentions  of  the  union.  In  response  to 
the  ultimatum  of  the  employers,  the  unions  granted  a 
conference  of  March  7.     At  this  conference  the  employers 


473]  MUTUAL  GOVERNMENT  ON  TRIAL  ^7 

offered  a  form  of  agreement  which  was  rejected  by  the 
unions. 

The  employers  then  declared  that  they  were  opposed, 
not  by  their  employees,  but  by  a  combination  of  labor 
leaders.  It  was  evident  that  unless  concessions  were 
made,  the  employers  had  reached  the  point  of  making  a 
test  of  strength  with  the  union  leaders  to  determine  who 
controlled  the  men  in  the  industry.  A  lockout  was 
threatened.  To  prevent  this,  if  possible,  the  National 
Civic  Federation  brought  about  a  second  conference  on 
March  12.  Preferring  peace  with  a  guarantee  of  exist- 
ing conditions,  to  an  open  clash  with  their  employers, 
the  unions  submitted  a  form  of  agreement  which  they 
promised  to  sign.' 

This  proposal  provided  for  closed  shop  and  the  main- 
tenance for  one  year  of  existing  rates  of  wages,  hours, 
overtime  and  holiday  rates,  apprenticeship  regulations, 
and  proportion  of  piece-work  to  time  work.  Disputes 
arising  "  on  any  question  or  point  not  specifically  cov- 
ered by  the  terms  "  of  the  proposed  agreement  were  to 
be  submitted  for  settlement  to  a  joint  committee  com- 
posed of  an  equal  number  of  representatives  of  the  union 
and  of  the  association.  In  the  event  of  a  failure  of  a 
majority  of  this  committee  to  agree  upon  the  settlement 
of  a  point  at  issue,  the  question  was  to  be  arbitrated. 
Pending  the  settlement  of  disputes,  no  strike  or  lockout 
was  to  be  declared. 

The  employers  refused  to  accept  this  proposal,  saying : 

We  have  issued  a  demand  upon  the  unions  that  a  plain, 
simple  arbitration  agreement  establishing  arbitration  methods 
and  joint  action  and  eliminating  strikes  and  lockouts  for  one 
year  would  be  acceptable  and  must  be  made  before  the  15th 

1  See  National  Lithographer,  March,  1904,  pp.  5-6. 


;S  THE  IJTHChiR.-H'HIC  INDUSTRY  [474 

of  March.  We  will  go  further  and  state  that  the  wages  and 
hours  will  not  he  changed,  and  that  the  open  and  closed  shop 
question  should  remain  as  it  was  for  one  year.^ 

In  order  to  make  another  attempt  to  insure  peace  in 
the  industry,  the  employers  submitted  a  counter-proposal 
as  a  substitute  for  their  orii^inal  plan/  The  two  impor- 
tant ciianges  were  as  follows :  First,  that  local  joint 
commissions  take  the  place  of  the  business  agents  in 
hearing  grievances  and  in  attempting  to  settle  them 
before  referring  them  to  the  national  commission  ;  and 
second,  that  the  agreement  as  originally  signed,  rather 
than  the  "  Annual  Bulletin,"  determine  part  of  the  work- 
ing conditions  for  one  year. 

The  Central  Lithographic  Trades  Council  rejected  this 
proposal  and  the  conference  ended  without  reaching  an 
agreement.  True  to  the  threat  made  by  the  association 
in  its  ultimatum  of  February  12,  the  employers  declared 
a  lockout  against  all  unions  on  March  15.  On  March 
16  individual  contracts  were  mailed  to  each  employee.^ 
These  contracts  endorsed  the  principle  of  arbitration  ; 
fixed  minimum  wage  rates,  overtime  rates  and  hours ; 
and  declared  against  strikes  and  lockouts.  The  associa- 
tion guaranteed  to  protect,  for  a  period  of  five  years, 
any  workman  who  was  fined  or  punished  for  signing 
such  a  contract.  The  term  of  the  contract  was  one  year, 
but  the  association  reserved  the  right  to  nullify  it  in  case 
an  agreement  was  reached  with  the  union  of  which  the 
workman  was  a  member. 

In  a  letter  which  accompanied  this  contract  and  which 
was  signed  by  the  employer  of  the  workman  to  whom  it 

1  National  Lithographer,  March,  1904,  p.  6. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  6  et  seq. 
^  Ibid.,  pp.  12-14. 


475]  MUTUAL  GOVERNMENT  ON  TRIAL  ^g 

was  sent,  it  was  stated  very  directly  that  refusal  to  sign 
the  contract  and  return  it  within  a  stated  short  period 
of  time  would  be  accepted  by  the  employer  as  a  resigna- 
tion of  the  position  held  by  the  workman. 

At  the  same  time  more  definite  protection  from  future 
molestation  by  the  union  was  offered  to  some  of  the 
best  men  by  giving  them  an  additional  contract  which 
read  as  follows : 

We  herewith  employ  you  as  ......  in  our de- 
partment for  the  period  of  five  years  from  above  date;  your 
work  to  be  under  the  direction  of  the  Company,  and  subject 
to  rules  and  regulations  of  the  Company;  it  being  understood 
that  53  hours  are  to  constitute  a  week's  work,  and  that  over- 
time and  work  on  Sundays  and  holidays  is  to  be  paid  for  as 
per  condition  in  force  before  March  15th,  1904.  Your  com- 
pensation is  to  be  ...  .  per  week,  and  we  agree  to  give  you 
permanent  employment  during  the  continuance  of  this  agree- 
ment.^ 

Anticipating  this  action  by  the  employers,  the  unions 
had  already  amended  their  constitutions  by  adding  the 
following  clause : 

No  member  of  the  (name  of  union)  shall  enter  into  or  sign 
any  contract  or  agreement  with  his  employer,  unless  such  con- 
tract or  agreement  contains  a  distinct  provision  that  none  of 
the  terms  thereof  shall  in  any  way  interfere  with  his  obliga- 
tions as  a  member  of  the  (name  of  union). 

This  was  effective  in  preventing  any  defections  from 
the  union  ranks  and  the  lithographic  industry  was  com- 
pletely at  a  standstill.  Through  the  efforts  of  the  National 
Civic  Federation,   the  unions  and  the  association  were 

1  Reprinted  in  Proceedings  of  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  Convention,  1904, 
p.  112. 


6o  THE  I.ITIIOGRArniC  INDUSTRY  [476 

broii£::ht  toq^etlicr  on  April  2  in  an  attempt  to  settle  the 
lockout.  After  a  week's  conference,  a  compromise  agree- 
ment was  reached  and  accepted  by  both  the  association 
and  the  unions.' 

This  compromise  agreement  guaranteed  the  continu- 
ance of  the  existing  conditions  relative  to  open  and 
closed  shop  ;  fixed  minimum  rates  of  wages  and  maxi- 
mum hours  of  work ;  guaranteed  the  maintenance  of 
overtime  and  holiday  rates  ;  provided  for  the  settlement 
of  grievances  by  temporary  joint  commissions,  or,  in  the 
event  of  their  failure  to  agree  upon  a  settlement,  by  ar- 
bitration ;  declared  against  strikes  and  lockouts  ;  assured 
the  unions  that  there  would  be  no  discrimination  against 
union  men  who  had  taken  prominent  parts  m  the  exist- 
ing disputes;  and  guaranteed  the  maintenance  of  existing 
apprenticeship  regulations,  except  in  the  case  of  the  L. 
I.  P.  and  B.  A.,  which  agreed  to  increase  its  ratio  at  its 
convention  in  July,  1904.''  The  life  of  the  agreement 
was  fixed  at  one  year.  Both  parties  agreed  to  confer  on 
the  question  of  its  renewal  at  least  three  months  before 
it  expired. 

This  brief  suspension  of  work  had  cost  the  employees 
at  least  $250,000  in  lost  wages.  The  employers  undoubt- 
edly lost  in  profits  a  considerable  amount,  probably  sev- 
eral times  this  sum,  since  some  of  their  trade  went  over 
permanently  to  the  three-color  printing  process. 

Although  the  actual  wording  of  the  agreement  was  a 
compromise  between  the  terms  originally  demanded  by 

1  See  National  Lithographer,  April,  1904,  pp.  5-7. 

*  A  plan  for  national  and  local  joint  apprenticeship  boards  was  later 
agreed  to  by  the  association  and  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  to  govern  the 
apprenticeship  question  in  the  industry  in  so  far  as  the  L.  I.  P.  and 
B.  A.  was  concerned.  See  National  Lithographer,  February,  1905, 
pp.  lO-II. 


477]  MUTUAL  GOVERNMENT  ON  TRIAL  6i 

the  employers'  association  and  the  previous  policy  of 
union  dictation  of  labor  conditions  in  the  industry,  the 
unions  generally  and  the  L,  I.  P.  and  B,  A.  especially 
lost  ground  in  the  settlement.  To  be  sure,  the  only  im- 
mediate change  in  labor  conditions  was  a  plan  for  in- 
creasing the  ratio  of  apprentices  in  some  branches  of  the 
industry.  Other  conditions  were  guaranteed  to  remain 
the  same  during  the  life  of  the  agreement. 

But  the  unions  had  given  up  their  system  of  direct 
legislation  or  wage  bargaining  by  union  constitution  and 
had  accepted  in  its  place  the  elements  of  the  plan  of  mu- 
tual government  proposed  by  the  employers'  association. 
Even  though  the  original  plan  of  the  employers,  to  leave 
all  differences  to  a  joint  commission,  was  not  accepted 
in  its  entirety,  the  idea — of  first  joint  action,  and  then  ar- 
bitration— was  the  central  feature  of  the  compromise 
agreement. 

This  was  a  loss  only  in  the  sense  that  it  left  the  unions 
in  a  less  advantageous  position  than  they  were  accus- 
tomed to  occupy.  It  did  not  shift  the  weight  of  advan- 
tage to  the  side  of  the  employers.  Instead  it  rather  ten- 
ded to  establish  a  balance  in  the  bargaining  relations  of 
the  two  parties. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  loss  which  the  unions  suffered  at 
this  time  was  their  failure  to  read  the  meaning  of  this 
agreement  as  projected  into  the  future  of  wage  bargain- 
ing in  the  industry.  For  the  first  time  they  had  encoun- 
tered a  strong  organization  of  employers.  The  latter 
had  won  their  fight  for  recognition.  If  the  unions  were 
not  exactly  defeated,  the  truce  at  least  gave  the  honors 
of  the  encounter  to  the  association.  Yet  the  entrance 
of  this  strong  defensive  organization  of  employers  into 
the  field  of  wage  bargaining  in  the  lithographic  industry 
seemed  not  to  have  been  considered  a  bad  omen  by  the 
unions.     They  still  had  only  half  learned  their  lesson. 


(Sj  TNI-:  IJTUO^.'R.ll'JIIC  LXDUSTRY  [478 

The  monev  loss  to  the  employers  was,  in  a  sense,  an 
investment  wliich  paid  large  dividends  later.  The  "  re- 
cognition "  of  the  association  by  the  unions  really  meant 
as  much  to  the  employers  as  the  recognition  of  the 
unions  by  employers  means  today  in  other  industries. 
This  in  itself  should  have  been  sufficient  cause  for  elation 
in  an  industry  in  which  union  dictation  of  labor  condi- 
tions was  apparently  fixed.  Yet  not  all  employers  con- 
sidered it  so.  Some,  misled  by  the  impression  made 
upon  the  unions  and  the  public  by  the  new-found  strength 
of  their  association,  believed  that  nothing  short  of  a 
complete  surrender  of  the  unions  should  have  been  ac- 
cepted. Such  employers,  like  the  unions,  did  not  yet 
fully  realize  the  significance  of  the  situation. 


CHAPTER  IV 

Mutual  Government  Rejected 

From  the  beginning,  the  agreement  operated  with  a  fair 
degree  of  satisfaction  to  all  parties.  Neither  side  lost  its 
partisanship,  however,  and  even  in  the  semi- judicial  meet- 
ings of  the  joint  boards  each  party  remained  loyal  to  its 
cause.  In  addressing  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  convention  in 
1904,  the  president  of  the  Central  Lithographic  Trades 
Council  said : 

The  men  who  are  appointed  to  interpret  the  agreement  .  .  . 
are  in  duty  bound  to  interpret  it  to  the  utmost  of  their  ability 
in  favor  of  the  side  which  appointed  them.^ 

However,  with  the  settlement  of  the  dispute  between  the 
employers  and  the  union  in  the  signing  of  the  agreement  for 
one  year,  came  a  break  in  the  ranks  of  the  association  and  in 
the  Central  Lithographic  Trades  Council.  The  Lithograph- 
ers' Association  (West)  was  dissatisfied  with  the  agreement 
because  it  gave  too  much  recognition  to  the  principle  of 
unionism  and  within  a  few  months  the  employers  under  its 
jurisdiction  reorganized  their  section  of  the  association,  re- 
taining the  name,  but  withdrawing  from  affiliation  with  the 
Lithographers'  Association  (East). 

At  about  the  same  time  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  withdrew 
from  the  Central  Lithographic  Trades  Council.  The  rea- 
sons for  this  action  are  as  follows  :  Being  larger  in  member- 
vShip  than  the  other  unions  in  the  council  and  representing 

1  Proceedings  of  L.  I.  P.  and  B,  A.  Convention,  1904,  p.  77. 
479]  63 


(^  THE  UTHOCRAl'lUC  INDUSTRY  [^go 

niurc  branches  oi  the  industry  than  they  did,  it  objected  to 
the  unit  phm  of  representation  in  the  proceedings  of  the 
council.  Hy  inani{)ulation  of  the  joint  conference  which 
had  framed  the  aj;reement  in  1904,  the  Poster  Artists' 
Association  was  able  to  secure  concessions  not  granted  to  the 
L.  I.  r.  and  1).  A.*  This  caused  dissatisfaction  in  the 
latter  union.  Since  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  looked  upon  the 
Press  Feeders'  Union  as  an  organization  of  apprentices,  it 
objected  to  dignifying  such  a  union  by  sitting  in  council 
with  it  and  by  being  guided  in  its  own  actions  by  the  votes 
of  apprentices.  Finally,  being  the  parent  union,  the  L.  I. 
P.  and  B.  A.  still  claimed  jurisdiction  over  all  branches  of 
the  industry  and  objected  to  any  kind  of  affiliation  with 
other  unions,  short  of  an  amalgamation  which  would  give 
its  own  superior  numbers  complete  control  over  the  entire 
indust^}^  Indeed,  its  officers  had  advocated  amalgamation 
for  years  and  had  tried  to  make  the  Central  Lithographic 
Trades  Council  a  real  amalgamation  instead  of  an  alliance. 
Failing  in  this  attempt,  it  had  entered  the  alliance  only  be- 
cause of  the  fear  of  the  united  efforts  of  the  employers. 
With  a  year's  peace  assured,  it  withdrew  from  the  alliance 
soon  after  the  1904  agreement  was  signed. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  rank  and  file  of  the  L.  I.  P.  and 
B.  A.  were  opposed  to  the  alliance  at  the  start  and  had  re- 
jected the  plan  by  a  referendum  vote  of  815  to  27.  Not- 
withstanding this  rejection,  the  officers  of  the  union  had  at- 
tended the  Buffalo  convention  and  had  made  their  organi- 
zation a  part  of  the  alliance.  In  explaining  the  action  of 
the  officers  later,  the  president  said : 

What  we  wanted was  to  endeavor  in  the  coming 

trouble  to  control  the  kindred  branches  so  that  they  would 
assist  us.^ 

1  See  National  Lithographer,  April,  1904,  pp.  5-7. 
"^Proceedings  of  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  Convention,  1904,  p.  125. 


481]  MUTUAL  GOVERNMENT  REJECTED  65 

In  the  convention  of  1904  the  union  amended  article  I., 
section  2  of  its  constitution  to  read  as  follows : 

RecOignizing  that  to  obtain  and  enjoy  that  which  we  seek 
can  only  be  accomplished  by  a  more  thorough  organization,  we 
pledge  ourselves  to  give  to  all  kindred  branches  of  our  trade 
our  assistance  in  organizing  them,  to  give  them  our  moral,  and 
if  necessary,  our  financial  support.^ 

But  under  no  consideration  shall  the  last  part  of  this  section 
be  construed  as  to  the  formation  of  an  alliance  or  affiliation.^ 

In  December,  1904,  the  Poster  Artists'  Association  took 
the  initiative  in  the  formation  of  a  stronger  and  more  per- 
manent alliance — one  which  would  prevent  any  union  from 
withdrawing  during  the  life  of  an  agreement.  Invitations 
to  a  conference  were  sent  out  to  all  unions  in  the  industry. 
The  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  replied  that  "  the  laws  of  this  As- 
sociation prohibit  our  entering  any  alliance."  The  other 
unions  accepted  the  invitation  and  in  January,  1905,  a  plan 
for  a  closer  alliance  of  these  unions  was  formulated. 

The  name  of  Central  Lithographic  Trades  Council  was 
retained.  It  was  not  to  be  considered  "  a  ruling  body,  since 
it  has  no  inherent  legislative  and  but  limited  executive 
powers,  but  it  shall  be  considered  more  especially  a  recom- 
mending agency."  At  the  same  time  it  was  expected  to 
"  conduct  negotiations  for  agreements  "  ^  and  "  when  prop- 
erly authorized  "  it  was  expected  to  "  assume  the  manage- 
ment of  strikes  and  lockouts  "  and  in  general  to  "  direct  such 
operations  as  require  complete  unity  of  action." 

The  articles  of  alliance  provided  for  the  organization  of 
local  lithographic  trades  councils  to  act  as  the  medium  of 

1  Proceedings  of  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  Convention,  1904,  p.  121. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  126. 

'  No  union  was  permitted  to  enter  into  any  agreement  on  its  own 
responsibility. 


65  Till:  LITIIOCRAPUIC  INDUSTRY  [482 

communication  for  the  several  local  unions.  All  acts  of 
the  Central  Lithographic  Trades  Council  required  the  ap- 
proval of  each  constituent  union  "  except  vi^hen  furtherance 
of  the  protective  purposes  of  this  alliance  as  set  forth  in 
the  Preamble  of  these  laws,  makes  immediate  action  by  the 
Central  Lithographic  Trades  Council  imperative." 

Section  6  of  the  articles  of  alliance  pledged  the  unions  not 
to  withdraw  from  the  alliance  during  the  life  of  any  agree- 
ment with  the  employers,  whether  or  not  such  period  was 
longer  than  one  year.  Subject  to  the  provisions  of  this 
section,  the  alliance  was  to  continue  for  one  year  from 
February  i,  1905,  provided  it  was  ratified  by  the  constituent 
unions.  The  plan  was  acceptable  to  the  unions  and  it  was 
ratified  by  them.  At  the  expiration  of  the  1904  agreement, 
in  April,  1905.  the  alliance  renewed  their  agreement  with 
both  the  Lithographers'  Association  (East)  ^  and  the  Lith- 
ographers' Association  (West). 

The  L.  L  P.  and  B.  A.  negotiated  with  the  Lithographers' 
Association  (East  and  Pacific)  for  an  agreement  to  cover 
the  year  1905-06.  The  union  submitted  a  proposed  agree- 
ment which  differed  from  the  existing  agreement  by  omitting 
section  10  dealing  with  apprentices,  and  by  amending  section 
2  to  grant  the  union  a  48  hour  week  on  July  i,  1905,  with- 
out any  reduction  in  wages.^ 

1  Including  Lithographers'  Association  (Pacific). 

2  The  proposed  section  read  as  follows  : 

"  Section  2.  The  rate  of  wages  to  be  paid  to  the  employees,  members 
of  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.,  the  Party  of  the  Second  Part,  shall  not  be 
reduced,  and  the  hours  of  labor  which  shall  constitute  a  week's  work 
for  such  employees,  and  the  daily  apportionment  of  such  hours  shall 
be  the  same  as  are  now  in  force  and  shall  so  continue  until  the  first  day 
of  July,  1905,  and  from  and  after  the  first  day  of  July,  1905,  the  hours 
of  labor  which  shall  constitute  a  week's  work  for  members  of  the 
Party  of  the  Second  Part  shall  be  forty-eight  hours,  but  no  reduction 
in  wages  shall  be  made  on  account  of  said  change  in  the  number  of 
hours  which  shall  constitute  a  week's  work." — Proceedings  of  L.  I.  P. 
and  B.  A.  Convention,  1906,  p.  56. 


483]  MUTUAL  GOVERNMENT  REJECTED  67 

The  union  had  called  a  convention  in  1904,  a  year  earlier 
than  the  time  for  the  regular  convention,  for  the  express 
purpose  of  taking  action  on  the  48  hour  week.  Accordingly, 
the  most  important  event  of  the  convention  was  the  passage 
of  an  amendment  to  its  constitution  which  obligated  its 
officers  to  insist  upon  incorporating  the  48  hour  week  in  the 
next  agreement.^  No  agreement,  either  verbal  or  written, 
which  did  not  contain  such  a  clause,  was  to  be  accepted  by 
the  union. 

Hence  the  union  expected  that  both  of  the  agreements — 
the  one  with  the  Lithographers'  Association  (East)  and  the 
other  with  the  Lithographers'  Association  (West) — would 
contain  a  48  hour  clause  in  1905.  When  neither  of  the 
drafts  submitted  to  the  union  for  ratification  contained  such 
a  clause  a  movement  was  started  to  reject  both  proposed 

1  The  amendment  read  as  follows : 

Article  XIII 

"Sec.  I.  Forty-eight  hours  shall  constitute  a  week's  work  for  all 
members  of  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  Association.  It  is  the  sense  of  this 
convention  that  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  General  Executive  Board,  who 
has  the  power  to  enter  into  a  future  agreement  with  the  Employers' 
Association,  to  insist  upon  the  insertion  of  a  clause  in  our  next  agree- 
ment that  will  provide  for  the  forty-eight  hour  week.  The  hours  nom- 
inated as  constituting  a  week's  work  shall  in  all  cases  be  the  hours 
within  the  schedule  hmiting  the  day's  work.  The  hours  may  be  so 
divided  as  to  arrange  for  a  lesser  number  on  the  last  day  of  the  week, 
but  the  schedule  having  been  agreed  upon,  the  work  done  in  time  not 
within  the  schedule,  shall  be  considered  overtime  and  be  paid  time 
and  a  half.  All  days  designated  by  the  National  or  State  authorities 
as  holidays  shall  be  so  accepted  by  this  Association,  and  members  who 
are  obliged  to  work  on  such  days  shall  receive  double  time  pay  for  the 
hours  they  work,  including  Sundays.  All  overtime  shall  be  eliminated 
where  it  is  possible  to  do  so  when  there  are  members  unemployed. 

"  Sec.  2.  Members  are  not  allowed  under  any  circumstances  to  enter 
into  any  agreement  with  employers,  either  verbal  or  written,  whereby 
they  are  expected  to  work  more  than  the  number  of  hours  provided 
for  in  Section  i,  without  receiving  extra  compensation  as  stipulated  in 
Section  i."— Proceedings  of  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  Convention,  1904,  p.  163. 


68  Tllli  UTIIOCRAnilC  INDUSTRY  [484 

agreements.  The  fear  of  discrimination  by  the  Lithograph- 
ers' Association  (T'ast)  in  favor  of  the  other  unions  pre- 
vented the  success  of  this  movement,  but  the  other  agree- 
ment was  rejected  by  the  L.  I.  V.  and  B.  A.  During  1905- 
o^^  this  union  had  no  agreement  with  the  Lithographers' 
Association  (West).  Conditions  were  not  different  from 
those  of  the  preceding  year  and  employers  and  unions  were 
tolerant  rather  than  either  hostile  or  cordial  in  their  dealings 
with  each  other.  While  neither  the  union  nor  the  associa- 
tion gave  official  recognition  to  the  other,  as  an  organization, 
members  of  the  association  dealt  wath  the  union  as  such. 

The  break  between  the  Lithographers'  Association  (West) 
and  the  Lithographers'  xAssociation  (East)  became  more 
marked  in  1906  than  it  was  in  1904  and  the  latter  organi- 
zation ceased  its  efforts  to  form  an  alliance  with  the  former. 
The  Association  (West)  reverted  to  its  former  policy  of 
waiting  for  the  unions  to  act  while  the  Association  (East) 
maintained  its  adherence  to  the  principles  of  mutual  govern- 
ment and  sought  to  continue  the  agreement  system.  Under 
date  of  December  13,  1905,  the  secretary  of  the  Association 
(East)  wrote  the  national  president  of  the  L.  L  P.  and 
B.  A.  as  follows : 

We  beg  to  notify  you  that  under  Section  8  of  the  agreement 
for  1905,  we  are  prepared  to  have  a  committee  from  the  Asso- 
ciation meet  a  similar  national  committee  from  the  L.  L  P. 
and  B.  A.  in  conference,  on  or  about  January  12th,  1906,  for 
the  purpose  of  formulating  a  new  agreement  between  the  or- 
ganizations for  a  period  of  one  year  or  longer,  if  desired."^ 

This  request  for  a  conference  was  refused  on  the  ground 
that  beginning  January  29,  the  national  convention  of  the 
L.  L  P.  and  B.  A.  would  be  held  for  the  purpose  of  formu- 

1  Reprinted  in  Proceedings  of  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  Convention,  1906, 
p.  141. 


485]  MUTUAL  GOVERNMENT  REJECTED  69 

lating  the  agreements  with  the  employers  and  that  the  em- 
ployers would  be  invited  to  attend  the  convention.  This 
convention  was  the  result  of  the  general  dissatisfaction 
among  the  union  members  over  the  committee  method  of 
formulating  the  1905  agreement,  although  it  was  submitted 
to  the  members  for  ratification.  It  was  planned  also  to  push 
through  the  48  hour  week  which  had  failed  in  1905  and  it 
was  expected  that  the  union  would  have  an  advantage  over 
the  employers  by  meeting  the  latter  in  the  manner  provided 
by  the  union.  The  convention  was  called  by  a  referendum 
vote  of  the  national  union  and  it  was  expressly  understood 
that  the  convention,  and  not  the  executive  board  or  a  com- 
mittee of  any  sort,  must  formulate  the  agreement  if  there 
was  to  be  one  for  1906. 

The  Lithographers'  Association  (East)  refused  to  meet 
the  convention  of  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  for  the  following 
reasons : 

In  the  first  place  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  Employers'  Asso- 
ciation that  New  York  City,  being  the  centre  of  the  litho- 
graphic industry  of  the  United  States,  should  be  the  locality 
in  which  all  such  national  conferences  should  be  held,  and  it  is 
the  place  where  all  such  conferences  have  been  held  hereto- 
fore. New  York  City  is  also  the  fixed  headquarters  of  the 
Employers'  Association,  and  therefore  the  precedent  that 
would  be  established  by  holding  the  conference  in  the  city  in 
which  your  general  convention  was  being  held  would  be  a  bad 
one  as  your  general  conventions  are  held  each  year  in  a  differ- 
ent locality. 

A  further  objection  to  holding  the  conference  during  the 
sitting  of  your  general  convention  is  that  in  the  formulating 
of  any  agreement,  the  various  conflicting  interests  involved 
require  to  be  carefully  weighed  and  adjusted  and  no  such  in- 
terest should  be  considered  to  the  detriment  of  the  others, 
and  the  accomplishment  of  such  result  requires  that  the  com- 
mittee in  charge  of  the  subject  must  first  have  power  con- 


JO  THE  UTIlOCRAnilC  INDUSTRY  [486 

fcrrcd  upon  them  to  draft  the  agreement  according  to  the 
^jTrecnionts  presented  and  the  conclusions  arrived  at  between 
the  committees,  and  second,  tiie  committee  must  be  kept  free 
during  the  conference  from  influences  and  criticisms  such  as 
would  be  unavoidable  were  the  conference  to  be  held  in  the 
pre^ence  of,  or  during  the  sitting  of  the  general  convention  of 
the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  or  the  Employers'  Association.  The 
holding  of  the  conference  at  the  time  which  you  suggest  would 
really  mean  a  conference,  not  betzveen  the  committees,  but  be- 
tween the  committee  from  the  Employers'  Association  and  the 
entire  general  convention  of  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  .  .  . 

A  mutual  government  agreement  such  as  now  exists  be- 
tween our  organizations  directly  concerns  the  interest  and 
welfare  of  each  individual  workman  as  well  as  each  individual 
employer,  and  inasmuch  as  it  ought,  therefore,  to  receive  the 
approbation  of  the  individuals  concerned,  it  should  for  this 
reason  be  submitted  for  ratification  to  the  votes  of  the  indi- 
viduals comprising  the  membership  of  both  organizations  and 
not  depend  for  its  ratification  or  rejection  upon  the  votes  of 
delegated  representatives  who  more  or  less  fail  to  represent 
their  constituents,  according  to  the  personality  of  the  dele- 
gates.^ 

The  Lithographers'  Association  (West)  also  refused  to 
hold  its  conference  at  the  time  set.^  Neither  of  the  com- 
munications stating  such  refusal  was  answered  by  the  union, 
but  when  the  convention  met  on  January  29,  the  employers 
were  notified  that  the  union  was  ready  to  meet  their  com- 
mittees for  the  purpose  of  formulating  agreements.  Again 
both  employers'  associations  refused  to  meet  the  union  for 
the  reason  given  above,  but  both  expressed  their  willingness 
to  meet  the  union  committee  as  soon  as  the  convention 
adjourned. 

1  Reprinted  in  Proceedings  of  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  Convention,  1906, 
pp.  100-102. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  102. 


487]  MUTUAL  GOVERNMENT  REJECTED  yi 

Thereupon  it  was  "  moved  that  if  the  employers  refuse  to 
meet  us  as  we  request  here  we  have  no  agreement  until  our 
next  convention."  ^  This  motion  was  amended  to  the  effect 
that  the  convention  draft  an  agreement  to  be  known  as  the 
"  Buffalo  Convention  Agreement  "  to  be  submitted  to  the 
employers  as  an  ultimatum  with  the  understanding  that  they 
must  "  sign  this  or  nothing."  ^  The  original  motion  was 
withdrawn  in  favor  of  the  amendment  which  passed  the 
convention  by  a  vote  of  62  to  one.^ 

Before  such  action  was  taken,  however,  some  of  the 
more  sober  and  conservative  delegates  at  the  convention 
made  themselves  heard  and  urged  further  efforts  to  induce 
the  employers  to  reach  an  amicable  agreement.  Accord- 
ingly, the  secretary  of  the  recently  organized  Employing 
Lithographers'  National  League  [the  former  secretary  of 
the  Lithographers'  Association  (East)]  was  invited  to  come 
to  the  convention  and  confer  with  the  agreement  committee 
of  the  union.  Finding  that  some  members  of  the  union 
did  not  have  a  clear  conception  of  his  mutual  government 
plan  for  governing  the  relations  of  employers  and  employees 
in  the  industry,  the  secretary  of  the  employers'  association 
defined  mutual  government  as  follows : 

Mutual  government  consists  of  two  parts,  joint  action  and 
arbitration.  The  application  of  these  things  to  the  smallest 
as  well  as  the  greatest  of  our  affairs  constitutes  what  we  term 
mutual  government 

The  first  part,  joint  action,  consists  of  equal  representation 
on  the  part  of  employers  and  the  employees  in  the  settlement 
or  discussion  of  anything  that  affects  trade  conditions,  affects 
the  interests  of  the  other  party  directly  or  indirectly.  Those 
things  that  have  heretofore  been  settled  under  old  conditions, 

1  Proceedings  of  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  Convention,  1906,  p.  138. 
*  Ihid.,  p.  138.  '  Ihid.,  p.  140. 


72  TIJli  LiniOCRArUlC  INDUSTRY  [^88 

by  cither  the  employers  or  the  men,  meeting  alone,  enunciating 
;in  ultimate  resolution  and  then  fighting  to  force  conditions, 
.  .  .  these  things  we  place  in  the  hands  of  an  equal  represen- 
tation from  the  employers  and  the  employees,  and  if  they  fail 
to  .'j^^^rec  or  settle  the  question,  then  and  then  only  shall  it  be 
placed  to  arbitration  and  the  result  of  the  arbitration  shall  be 
tinal  and  binding.     That  is  mutual  government.* 

In  his  objections  to  the  plan  for  mutual  government  as 
so  defined,  the  spokesman  for  the  union  committee,  a  former 
president  of  the  union,  said : 

It  has  been  in  the  past  the  ideal  object  of  trade  organiza- 
tions when  they  select  men  to  frame  their  laws,  their  laws 
when  dated  to  take  efifect  must  be  enforced,  no  way  of  arbi- 
trating. This  is  the  only  way.  ...  I  have  been  an  officer  of 
this  association  and  I  have  taken  an  obligation  to  see  that  that 
book    (constitution  and  by-laws)   was   fully  lived  up  to.     If 

'  (Question  by  a  union  member)  : — "Do  I  understand  you  that  any 
question  could  be  taken  up  by  joint  commission?  Would  you  take  our 
constitution  and  by-laws  and  pick  flaws?" 

(Answer  by  secretary)  : — "Your  constitution  and  by-laws  are  not  a 
trade  question,  they  are  not  a  subject  for  arbitration,  not  a  subject 
for  mutual  government,  and  neither  is  ours.  If  you  put  in  your 
constitution  and  by-laws  that  the  employers  must  stand  on  their  heads 
fifteen  minutes  every  morning  and  attempt  to  enforce  it,  that  question 
would  be  settled  immediately  by  joint  action.  .  .  .  You  can  put  what 
you  please  in  black  marks  on  white  paper — so  can  we — but  you  have 
absolutely  no  moral  right  or  trade  right  to  put  a  line  in  that  that  gov- 
erns employers.  Your  jurisdiction  ends  at  that  door  (indicating  door 
of  convention  hall). 

"Our  jurisdiction  ends  at  our  door.  When  we  get  out  into  the  passage- 
way, which  is  the  trade,  we  will  settle  differences  there  jointly.  .  .  . 
You  bring  that  book  (indicating  constitution  and  by-laws)  out  there 
and  say  that  governs  the  passage-way  of  the  trade,  we  say  "  No,"  nO' 
more  than  the  constitution  and  by-laws  of  the  church  governs  the  trade. 
When  you  attempt  to  enforce  it  there,  that  is  when  we  need  mutual  gov- 
ernment. .  .  .  We  give  you  half  the  right  and  demand  the  other  half. 
That  is  mutual  government." — Proceedings  of  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  Con- 
vention, 1906,  pp.  147-8. 


489]  MUTUAL  GOVERNMENT  REJECTED  y^ 

they  make  a  law  here  now  saying-  on  and  after,  say  April 
15th,  wages  of  pressmen  shall  be  $50.00  a  week,  if  I  was  gen- 
eral president  of  the  association,  I  would  have  to  see  it  is  so 
lived  np  to.     They  could  not  work  for  less  than  $50.00.^ 

The  above  statement  is  historically  true  as  a  description 
of  the  methods  formerly  employed  by  the  unions  in  the  in- 
dustry; but  it  is  more.  It  is  a  statement  of  the  means  by 
Mrhich  the  union  expected  to  determine  the  working  condi- 
tions of  its  members,  especially  the  48  hour  week,  in  1906. 
In  reporting  to  the  convention  on  the  interview  with  the 
employers'  association  secretary,  the  spokesman  for  the 
union  committee  said : 

I  believe  that  our  general  officers  don't  understand  what 
mutual  government  is.     I  believe  they  were  taken  in  on  that 

question  of  mutual  government While  you  have  the 

right  under  the  present  conditions  to  turn  this  matter  over  to 
the  Law  Committee,  they  may  form  your  laws,  but  they  cannot 
be  effective  until  they  are  placed  before  a  conference  com- 
mittee, and  they  must  decide  whether  they  are  satisfied  with 
the  laws  you  have  enacted  here  today,  and  not  before  then 
can  they  be  looked  upon  as  the  laws  of  this  association.  That 
is  mutual  government.  My  advice  would  be  to  go  ahead  and 
ignore  the  whole  thing.^ 

The  more  conservative  delegates  in  the  convention  pre- 
vented radical  action  for  a  time  at  least  until  the  feelings 
of  the  other  unions  in  the  industry  concerning  concerted 
action  in  case  of  trouble  with  the  employers  could  be  ascer- 
tained. On  the  same  date.  December  13,  1905,  that  the  em- 
ployers' association  requested  a  conference  with  the  L.  I.  P. 
and  B.  A.,  a  similar  request  was  sent  to  the  Central  Lith- 
ographic Trades  Council.  As  in  the  letter  to  the  L.  I.  P. 
and  B.  A.,  the  employers'  association  added  : 

1  Proceedings  of  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  Convention,  1906,  pp.  152-4. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  137. 


-^  TlUi  LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [^(jo 

We  woulil  also  inform  you  tliat  the  necessary  legal  steps 
are  now  being  taken  to  change  the  name  of  the  Lithographers' 
Association  (^East)  to  the  following:  Employing  Lithograph- 
ers' National  League,  and  we  expect  about  January  i2lh,  1906, 
or  at  any  rate  before  the  signing  of  the  new  agreement,  that 
the  members  of  the  Association  (Pacific)  will  have  joined  our 
Association  and  that  the  Employing  Lithographers'  National 
League  will  not  only  cover,  but  actually  include  in  its  mem- 
bership, the  employirig  lithographers  of  the  East  and  Pacific 
and  perhaps  of  other  i)arts  of  the  country. 

Not  knowing  how  strong  this  reorganized  association 
might  be  and  not  wishing  to  be  forced  to  a  test  of  strength 
until  the  proposed  action  of  the  L.  L  P.  and  B.  A.  was 
known,  the  Central  Lithographic  Trades  Council  played  for 
time,  meanwhile  answering  the  communication  of  the  em- 
ployers and  enquiring  membership,  functions,  etc.,  of  the 
proposed  league.  When  the  L.  L  P.  and  B.  A.  convention 
met,  representatives  of  the  Central  Lithographic  Trades 
Council  appeared  and  outlined  the  following  form  of  amal- 
gamation of  the  lithographic  unions : 

One  organization  to  be  formed  of  the  present  craft  unions. 
Each  of  the  present  unions  to  remain  intact  for  the  considera- 
tion of  affairs  peculiar  to  its  special  branch ;  the  principle  of 
referendum  of  the  entire  membership  to  govern  the  making 
of  laws ;  laws  for  the  internal  government  of  each  branch 
organization  to  conform  with  the  general  laws.  Each  of  the 
bodies  to  have  locals  in  every  locality,  whose  meetings  are  to 
be  optional.  Monthly  meetings  of  all  the  men  in  each  locality 
to  be  held  together.  Local  executive  boards  to  be  composed 
of  one  representative  from  each  branch  of  the  craft.  A 
national  executive  board  to  be  composed  of  one  representative 
from  each  branch  of  the  craft.  One  treasury  for  all  the 
branches.  Dues  to  be  equal  for  all,  regardless  of  branch ; 
assessments  to  be  either  equal  or  percentage.  For  the  amal- 
gamation of  the  present  bodies,  in  order  to  provide  that  each 


491  ]  MUTUAL  GOVERNMENT  REJECTED  75 

pay  the  same  proportionate  amount  into  the  general  treasury, 
each  organization  to  contribute  a  per  capita  sum  equal  to  that 
of  the  richest.  General  articles,  non-amendable,  guaranteeing 
to  each  branch  its  autonomy,  and  establishing  the  general  idea 
of  organization  hereinbefore  set  forth,  to  be  agreed  to  by  each 
organization  before  the  unity  is  established.^ 

The  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  was  opposed  to  any  alliance  or  any 
plan  of  amalgamation  other  than  that  by  which  the  other 
unions  should  become  a  part  of  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A. ;  and 
even  this  privilege  was  to  be  denied  the  Press  Feeders' 
Union.  Plence  the  above  proposal  was  not  given  serious 
consideration  in  the  convention.  But  when  the  employers 
refused  to  meet  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  in  convention,  the 
latter  saw  the  need  of  a  defensive  alliance  with  the  other 
unions  in  case  trouble  should  result.  Representatives  of  the 
various  trades,  members  of  the  Central  Lithographic  Trades 
Council,  were  requested  to  come  to  the  convention  at  once. 
In  the  meantime,  the  constitution  of  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A. 
was  amended  by  striking  out  of  article  I.,  section  2,  the  last 
clause  which  provided : 

But  under  no  consideration  shall  the  last  part  of  this  section 
be  construed  as  to  the  formation  of  an  alliance  or  affiliation. - 

On  February  6  to  8,  1906,  the  alliance  representatives 
met  the  committee  of  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  and  discussed 
two  propositions :  First,  to  include  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A. 
in  the  existing  alliance  for  defensive  purposes  in  carrying 
all  unions  over  the  period  of  making  the  agreement  for  the 
ensuing  year;  and  second,  to  lay  the  foundation  for  future 
amalgamation  on  the  plan  advocated  by  the  L.  I.  P.  and 
B.  A. — that  is,  that  the  members  of  the  other  unions  join 

1  Proceedings  of  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  Convention,  1906,  p.  109. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  168. 


76  THE  LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [40)2 

this  union  and  he  governed  hy  its  laws.  The  representatives 
of  the  1..  I.  r.  and  B.  A.  were  interested  in  the  defensive 
alhanoe  only  as  a  temporary  measure  to  prevent  their  em- 
ployers from  using  the  other  unions  as  a  whip  to  force  an 
agreement  from  the  L.  1.  P.  and  B.  A.  which  would  not 
grant  the  48  hour  week.  They  were  more  interested  in 
laying  the  foundation  for  future  amalgamation  which  would 
give  them  complete  control  over  all  labor  in  the  industry. 

The  alliance  representatives  not  only  would  not  commit 
themselves  on  the  question  of  future  amalgamation  or  the 
form  of  agreement  to  be  asked  for,  but  they  insisted  that  in 
case  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  applied  for  admittance,  such  ap- 
plication must  be  accompanied  by  a  statement  of  demands 
which  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  expected  to  make  of  the  em- 
ployers. In  accordance  with  this  understanding,  the  agree- 
ment committee  of  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  made  the  follow- 
ing recommendation  to  the  convention : 

That  application  be  made  to  the  proper  officials  of  the  Alli- 
ance, to  become  a  party  thereof,  bringing  to  their  notice  the 
nature  of  our  demand  with  reference  to  the  48  hour  week, 
during  the  agreement  period,  the  ultimate  object  being  a  view 
of  amalgamation  or  closer  relationship  that  will  meet  the 
present  concentrated  power  of  the  employers 

And  we  further  recommend  that  we  set  the  date  September 
1st  of  this  year  for  the  48  hour  week.^ 

During  the  course  of  the  discussion  of  these  recommenda- 
tions, a  demand  was  made  for  the  formulation  of  the  Buffalo 
Convention  Agreement  or  ultimatum  previously  voted  upon 
by  the  convention.  Accordingly,  a  form  of  contract  to  be 
presented  to  the  employers  by  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  as  an 
ultimatum  was  drawn  up,  embodying  closed  shop,  minimum 
wage,  arbitration  of  questions  "  not  specifically  covered  by 

1  Proceedings  of  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  Convention,  1906,  pp.  216-17. 


493]  MUTUAL  GOVERNMENT  REJECTED  yy 

the  terms  of  this  agreement,"  overtime,  apprenticeship,  limi- 
tation upon  output,  and  the  48  hour  week.  This  proposed 
agreement  was  acted  upon  section  by  section/  The  section 
deahng  with  hours  of  labor  read  as  follows : 

It  is  hereby  agreed  that  on  and  after  April  12th,  1906,  the 
established  work  week  shall  consist  of  forty-eight  (48)  hours, 
and  that  in  no  instance  shall  there  be  a  reduction  of  the  rate 
of  wages  paid  to  any  member  of  the  party  of  the  second  part.^ 

Having  adopted  such  an  agreement  or  ultimatum,  those 
who  favored  it  tried  to  prevent  the  adoption  of  the  alliance 
report.  At  the  next  session  of  the  convention  the  ultimatum 
was  reconsidered  and  the  following  resolution  was  adopted 
as  a  substitute  for  the  ultimatum  and  the  previous  alliance 
resolution : 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  one  of  the  chief  reasons  for  calling 
this  convention  was  the  formulation  of  an  agreement  with  the 
employers'  association,  and  through  some  misunderstanding 
this  convention  is  unable  to  meet  the  employers'  association, 
therefore  I  present  the  following: 

That  this  association  join  the  Alliance,  and  should  the  em- 
ployers desire  an  agreement,  that  it  is  fonnulated  through  our 
representatives  in  said  Alliance  and  submitted  to  referendum 
according  to  our  laws.^ 

This  substitute  was  carried  by  a  vote  of  50  to  one.  In 
discussing  the  advantage  of  joining  the  alliance  one  mem- 
ber said : 

You  (the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.)  become  a  member  and  present 
your  agreement.  If  it  doesn't  meet  with  the  approval  of  the 
rest  of  the  Alliance  or  with  the  employers,  you  hold  up  the 
entire  Alliance   from  entering  into   an  agreement By 

1  Proceedings  of  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  Convention,  1906,  p.  220. 

"^ Ibid.,  p.  222.  *  Ihid.,  p.  226. 


78  THE  I.lTllOCRAPIllC  INDUSTRY  [4^4 

joining  the  Alliance  there  is  every  possible  chance  of  forcing 
our  agreement  through.' 

In  other  words,  it  was  expected  that  the  other  unions 
would  be  forced  to  help  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  to  get  their 
48  hour  week. 

In  the  same  spirit  the  attitude  on  affiliation  of  the  L.  I.  P. 
and  B.  A.  with  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  a  sub- 
ject of  discussion  but  also  of  adverse  action  for  several 
successive  years,  was  changed  when  it  was  pointed  out  that 
*'  if  we  join  the  A.  F.  of  L.,  when  it  comes  to  amalgamation 
with  all  the  trades,  we  will  control  jurisdiction  over  other 
trades  in  the  industry."  "  Under  this  interpretation,  it  was 
voted  to  make  application  for  affiliation  with  the  A.  F.  of  L. 

Following  the  vote  to  apply  for  admission  to  the  Central 
Lithographic  Trades  Council,  the  L.  L  P.  and  B.  A.  con- 
vention repudiated  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  called, 
namely,  to  secure  an  agreement  with  the  employers  which 
must  contain  the  48  hour  clause,  by  amending  its  constitu- 
tion to  permit  its  representatives  to  execute,  subject  to  rati- 
fication by  the  union,  "  an  agreement  in  accordance  with 
the  laws  governing  said  Council."  ^ 

Subsequently,  the  L.  L  P.  and  B.  A.  was  admitted  to 
membership  in  the  Central  Lithographic  Trades  Council. 
While  it  was  generally  understood  that  this  union  expected 
to  insist  upon  a  48  hour  week  as  a  condition  of  signing 
agreements  in  1906,  it  was  not  generally  understood  by  the 
council  that  the  failure  to  receive  the  shorter  week  would 
involve  the  entire  industry  in  a  strike. 

On  March  20,  1906,  the  alliance,  including  the  L.  L  P. 
and  B.  A.,  met  the  representatives  of  the  newly  organized 

1  Proceedings  of  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  Convention,  igo6,  p.  216. 

'  Ibid.,  p.  228. 

^Article  VIII.,  section  i. 


495]  MUTUAL  GOVERNMENT  REJECTED  yg 

Employing  Lithographers'  National  League  and  drew  up  a 
tentative  agreement  to  be  submitted  to  the  respective  organi- 
zations for  ratification.  The  employers  wanted  a  three-year 
agreement  drawn  similar  to  the  existing  agreement.  They 
were  unwilling  to  grant  a  48  hour  week  outright,  but  they 
were  willing  to  abide  by  the  decision  of  the  joint  board  to 
consider  the  case  or  by  arbitration  if  the  board  failed  to 
agree.  It  was  generally  understood  that  the  employers 
would  favor  a  plan  to  reduce  hours  gradually  so  that  in  the 
course  of  a  year  and  a  half  or  two  years  the  48  hour  week 
would  be  in  force. 

On  March  27,  the  alliance  met  the  representatives  of  the 
Lithographers'  Association  (West)  and  encountered  similar 
opposition  to  the  proposed  48  hour  week.  However,  again 
a  tentative  agreement  was  drawn  up  for  submission  to  the 
organizations  interested.  The  two  agreements  were  to  be 
accepted  or  rejected  by  April  23.  In  the  meantime  the  old 
agreements  were  to  remain  in  force.  Both  agreements 
contained  clauses  leaving  any  change  in  hours  to  be  settled 
as  any  other  disputed  point  —  by  the  joint  board  or  by 
arbitration. 

Both  agreements  were  almost  unanimously  rejected  by 
all  unions.  The  national  officers  of  the  unions  used  their 
efforts  to  defeat  the  agreements  and  had  little  trouble  in 
persuading  their  constituents  since  they  had  planned  for  the 
48  hour  week  in  1906.  Especially  was  this  true  of  the 
members  of  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A. 

With  one  relatively  unimportant  exception  which  will 
be  noted  later,  this  marks  the  end  of  trade  agreements  in 
the  lithographic  industry.  Efforts  to  effect  a  compromise 
followed  the  rejection  of  the  tentative  agreements  by  the 
unions,  but  by  this  time  the  employers  were  organized  on  a 
new  basis  and  were  already  laying  plans  for  a  new  regime 
in  the  control  of  their  employees. 


So  T!IH  LITHOi.'RAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [40)6 

Tho  workiiicn  were  the  lirst  interestetl  parties  in  the  Hth- 
ographic  iiukistry  to  learn  the  power  of  organization.  Even 
as  craft  and  semi-industrial  unions  involved  in  jurisdictional 
fights  which  occasionally  resulted  in  underbidding  each  other 
in  the  shops,  they  were  able  for  some  years  to  dictate  the 
terms  of  employment  to  their  unorganized  employers. 
Again,  as  separate  unions,  they  were  able  to  maintain  their 
advantage  against  a  defensive  alliance  of  employers'  associa- 
tions. As  an  alliance  of  unions  they  were  somewhat  less 
successful,  yet  not  wholly  unsuccessful,  in  their  dealings  with 
a  single,  strong,  employers'  association,  organized  for  de- 
fensive purposes.  The  unions  had  never  tried  a  single, 
strong,  centralized  form  of  organization.  Up  to  this  time 
they  had  never  really  had  an  encounter  which  made  this 
necessary.  As  the  aggressors,  they  had  found  craft  and 
semi-industrial  unions,  with  only  occasional  defensive  alli- 
ances when  danger  seemed  to  threaten  them,  sufficient  to 
give  them  the  balance  of  power  or  at  least  equal  power  in 
wage  bargaining. 

Their  employers  were  apt  pupils.  Handicapped  at  first 
by  lack  of  organization,  they  gradually  added  to  their  bar- 
gaining power  until  they  reached  the  level  of  the  unions. 
In  fact,  they  were  so  apt  in  their  study  of  the  methods  of 
wage  bargaining  that  they  saw  possibilities  in  organization 
never  sensed  by  their  teachers.  This  caused  the  relations 
of  the  two  parties  to  be  reversed :  the  employers'  association 
became  the  teacher,  and  the  unions  became  somewhat  in- 
different pupils. 


CHAPTER  V 

Preparation  for  Conflict 

The  agreements  which  began  in  1904  and  were  re- 
newed in  1905  expired  in  April,  1906.  Pending  further 
efforts  to  renew  these  agreements,  the  employers  asked 
that  the  old  agreements  continue  to  govern  labor  condi- 
tions in  the  industry.  The  unions  rejected  this  proposal 
and  replied  that  they  expected  to  work  without  agree- 
ments. By  so  doing  they  hoped  to  return  to  the  pre- 
agreement  period  of  governing  their  working  conditions 
without  giving  their  employers  an  equal  voice.  The 
year  1906  was  considered  an  opportune  time  to  make 
this  move  because  the  employers  were  then  temporarily 
disorganized.  Before  the  real  test  of  strength  came, 
however,  two  important  changes  occurred. 

In  the  first  place,  the  domineering  attitude  of  the  L. 
I.  P.  and  B.  A.  officials  caused  dissension  in  the  Central 
Lithograhic  Trades  Council  and  the  union  alliance  split 
into  factions.  The  Poster  Artists'  Association  and  the 
Artists',  Engravers'  and  Designers'  League  tried  to 
form  a  sort  of  two-union  alliance  but  failed.  In  July 
the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  tried  to  induce  the  other  unions 
to  become  a  part  of  it  through  amalgamation.  This  also 
failed.  Tentative  plans  were  then  drawn  for  the  forma- 
tion of  the  International  Lithographic  Trades  Alliance 
of  North  America,  an  organization  which  was  planned 
to  bind  the  unions  more  closely  together  than  did  the 
Central  Lithographic  Trades  Council,  but  which  would 
protect  the  identity  of  the  separate  unions. 

While  the  latter  organization  was  being  discussed,  the 
L.   I.  P.   and  B.   A.,  without  the  consent  of  the  other 
497]  81 


82  i'iii'  Lll'UOCR.-lPinC  INDUSTRY  [4^3 

unions,  served  notice  upon  the  employers  on  July  9,  that 
the  48  hour  week  would  go  into  effect  on  September  i, 
and  that  the  employers  were  expected  to  acquiesce  in 
this  demand  and  so  notify  the  union  by  July  25.  It  was 
announced  to  the  other  unions  and  understood  by  the 
employers  that  in  case  the  demand  was  not  granted  by 
July  25,  a  strike  would  be  called  August  i,  even  though 
the  48  hour  week  was  not  planned  to  go  into  effect  until 
September  i. 

While  the  unions  were  drifting  apart,  the  employers 
were  coming  together  under  a  form  of  organization 
which  assured  continued  allegiance  to  their  association. 
Anticipating  trouble  with  the  unions,  the  newly  formed 
Employing  Lithographers'  National  League  and  the  old 
Lithographers'  Association  (West)  held  a  joint  confer- 
ence in  Pittsburg  on  May  22  to  24,  and  formed  the 
National  Association  of  Employing  Lithographers.  The 
new  association  was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the 
State  of  New  York  on  May  31,  1906.  The  reason  for 
the  formation  of  this  organization,  as  stated  in  the  pre- 
amble to  its  constitution,  was  as  follows  : 

The  action  of  the  unions  of  Lithographic  Employees  in  re- 
fusing to  ratify  the  agreements  arrived  at  by  the  committees 
representing  the  Eastern  and  Western  Lithographic  Employ- 
ers' Associations  and  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Allied 
Unions,  makes  necessary  the  adoption  of  a  policy  to  guide  all 
employers  throughout  the  United  States. 

A  National  Association  is  therefore  desirable,  the  purposes 
and  objects  of  which  shall  be  to  foster  the  business  of  litho- 
graphers, to  reform  abuses  relative  thereto,  and  to  secure 
freedom  from  unjust  or  unlawful  exactions,  to  produce  uni- 
formity and  certainty  in  the  customs  and  usages  of  the  trade, 
to  settle  differences  between  its  members,  to  promote  a  more 
enlarged  and  friendly  intercourse  between  lithographers,  to 
maintain  amicable  relations  between  the  members  and  their 


499]  PREPARATION  FOR  CONFLICT  83 

employees,  to  prevent  unjust  and  unreasonable  discrimination 
against  any  person  or  persons  by  any  combination,  person  or 
conspiracy  in  any  manner  relating  to  the  business  of  the 
members  of  the  Association,  and  in  general  to  foster  and  ad- 
vance the  industrial  progress  of  the  lithographic  trade ;  and 
we  do  hereby  declare  our  adherence  to  the  following 

DECLARATION    OF    PRINCIPLES, 

First :  Prior  to  the  commission  of  hostile  action  on  the  part 
of  any  union  or  unions  toward  any  member  of  the  Association, 
we  favor  the  settlement  of  disputes  with  unions  by  reference 
of  such  questions  to  properly  constituted  boards  of  confer- 
ence and  arbitration,  and  should  any  labor  union  or  unions 
approve  and  have  ratified  by  its  members,  the  form  of  con- 
ference and  arbitration  which  is  hereto  appended,  upon  the 
offering  to  us  of  said  agreement,  for  a  term  of  not  less  than 
five  (5)  years,  we  bind  ourselves  to  accept  and  ratify  it. 

Second:  In  the  event  of  the  commission  of  any  hostile 
action  on  the  part  of  any  union  or  unions  toward  any  member 
of  this  Association,  the  "  open  shop  "  shall  be  established  with 
reference  to  such  hostile  union  or  unions,  under  such  shop 
rules  and  practices  as  may  be  adopted  by  this  National  Asso- 
ciation. 

Membership  in  the  association  is  "  restricted  to  such 
persons  as  are  engaged  individually,  or  are  members  of 
firms  or  are  stockholders  in  corporations  which  are  en- 
gaged in  the  business  of  lithographing,  and  own  and 
operate  lithographic  power  presses.  No  applicant  shall 
be  admitted  to  membership  in  this  corporation  who,  as 
an  individual,  or  whose  firm  or  corporation  has  any 
agreement  with  any  union  in  the  lithographic  trade."' 

1  Article  I.,  section  i,  of  the  constitution  as  adopted  June  4,  1906. 
Amended  July  31,  igo6,  to  substitute  "who  employ  lithographic  help" 
for  "  own  and  operate  lithographic  power  presses."  Unless  otherwise 
stated,  the  constitutional  provisions  referred  to  in  all  foot-notes  are  as 
originally  adopted  June  4,  1906;  and  except  where  stated  otherwise, 
they  are  still  operative  at  the  time  this  investigation  is  being  made. 


84  THE  LITIIOGRAPUIC  INDUSTRY  [50O 

Membership  fees  are  "  computed  at  the  rate  of  Five 
Hunilred  Dollars  for  each  lithographic  press  operated  or 
owned  by  the  member,  or  his  firm  or  corporation."' 
Upon  becoming  a  member,  each  employer  fills  out  the 
following  note  form  for  the  full  amount  of  his  entrance 
fee:' 

$ I9T- 

Three  months  after  date  I  promise  to  pay  to  the  order  of 
the  National  Association  of  Employing  Lithographers 

Dollars 

at  Traders  National  Bank,  Rochester,  N.  Y.     Value  received. 
No Due 

As  signed  by  the  member,  this  note  is  left  undated.  In- 
stead, the  member  signs  the  following  authorization 
which  enables  the  association  to  collect  the  face  value  of 
the  note  at  its  discretion  : 

To  THE  National  Association  of  Employing  Lithograph- 
ers: 

It  being  understood  that  the  undersigned, 

is  indebted  to  the  National  Association  of  Employing  Litho- 
graphers in  the  amount  of  $ ,  and  said  Association  being 

willing  to  accept  a  note  representing  said  indebtedness,  we  the 
undersigned,  maker  and  endorser  of  a  note  of  blank  date  and 

in  the  amount  of  $ ,  naming  said  Association  as  payee, 

do  hereby  authorize  and  empower  any  ofScer  of  said  Asso- 
ciation to  insert  in  said  note,  herewith  delivered,  any  date,  at 
any  time  such  Association  may  desire  to  negotiate  or  demand 
payment  of  said  note. 


Dated 


1  Article  XL,  section  i. 

2  In  case  the  member  represents  a  corporation,  other  papers  must  be 
signed  showing  that  such  representative  has  been  empowered  by  the 
corporation  to  join  the  association. 


50l]  PREPARATION  FOR  CONFLICT  gr 

The  quarterly  dues  of  the  association,  payable  in  ad- 
vance, in  1906  and  in  1915  were  as  follows  : 


Size  of  press  {Hoe  sizes) 

1906^ 

1915'' 

For  each  press  no.  2 

$5.60 

$3-54 

For  each  press  no.  3 

5.60 

3-90 

For  each  press  no.  3^ 

5.60 

4.20 

For  each  press  no.  4 

7.60 

4.92 

For  each  press  no.  4^ 

7.60 

5-64 

For  each   offset  press 

.... 

564 

For  each  press  no.  5 

9.00 

6  00 

For  each  press  no.  5^ 

9.00 

6.30 

For  each  press  no.  6 



6.66 

For  each  i  color  rotary 

9-35 

7.02 

For  each  2  color  rotary 

10.70 

8.76 

For  each  3  color  rotary 

12.00 

10.50 

For  each  multi-color 

14.70 

14.04 

Special  assessments  may  be  levied  by  a  two-thirds  vote 
of  the  board  of  directors. 

The  voting  power  of  each  member  of  the  association 
is  "  one  vote  for  each  lithographic  press  which  he,  or  his 
firm  or  corporation  operates  or  owns  in  his  or  its  place 
of  business." 3  Except  at  the  annual  meetings,  votes  on 
questions  submitted  to  the  members  are  taken  by  mail 
or  telegraph.*  Votes  may  also  be  given  by  proxy,  pro- 
vided that  only  a  member  of  the  association  may  hold  a 
proxy.5 

Except  as  general  questions  have  come  up  at  the 
annual  meetings,  the  board  of  directors  is  the  governing 
body  of  the  association.  Its  powers  are  defined  as 
follows  : 

The    Board   of   Directors    shall   manage   the   property   and 

1  Constitution,  1906,  article  XI.,  section  2. 

2  Constitution,  1912,  article  XL,  section  2. 

3  Article  V.,  section  5.  *  Article  V.,  section  6. 
^  Article  V.,  section  4. 


g6  THE  LirilOCRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [502 

affairs  of  this  corporation,  and  shall  have  absolute  and  com- 
plete power  to  do  any  and  all  acts  in  furtherance  of  the  pur- 
poses and  objects  of  this  corporation.  The  entire  power  of 
this  corporation,  except  such  as  is  expressly  reserved  to  the 
members  by  the  Constitution,  is  vested  in  this  Board.  Such 
Board  of  Directors  may,  from  time  to  time,  delegate  the  ex- 
ercise of  such  powers  as  they  see  fit,  to  such  standing  or  other 
committees,  as  they  may  by  resolution  designate.  They  shall 
fill  any  vacancy  in  any  office,  or  in  their  own  number,  for  the 
unexpired  term  of  such  office.  A  director  chosen  to  fill  a 
vacancy  shall  have  the  qualifications  of  the  directors  to  whose 
office  he  succeeds.^  The  directors  shall  likewise  have  the 
power  to  interpret  this  Constitution,  and  an  interpretation 
once  made  shall  be  made  a  matter  of  record  and  shall  remain 
fixed  until  changed  at  a  meeting  of  this  corporation.  The 
Board  of  Directors  shall  have  such  further  powers  as  are 
specifically  granted  to  them  in  other  portions  of  this  Constitu- 
tion. A  director  unable  to  be  present  at  any  meeting  of  the 
Board  may  be  represented  by  any  other  member  of  his  group, 
firm,  or  stockholder  in  his  corporation,  but  such  representa- 
tive shall  not  be  entitled  to  vote.' 

Having  joined  the  association,  a  member  may  withdraw 
only  under  the  following  conditions : 

He  shall  give  six  months'  notice  in  writing  of  his  intention 
to  withdraw  and  shall  pay  and  satisfy  all  assessments  and  de- 
mands of  this  corporation  against  him.  At  the  expiration  of 
the  six  months,  this  corporation  shall,  by  a  vote  of  its  Board 
of  Directors,  allow  such  withdrawal,  provided  there  is  no 
strike,  lockout  or  boycott  pending  which  directly  affects  the 
business  of  any  member  of  this  corporation.  When  such  with- 
drawal shall  have  been  permitted,  the  Board  of  Directors  may, 
in  their  discretion,  pay  to  such  withdrawing  member  his  mem- 
bership fee,  but  shall  be  under  no  obligation  to  do  so.^ 

^Directors  are  apportioned  according  to  geographic  units. 
2  Article  III.,  section  5.  ^Article  I.,  section  4. 


^03]  PREPARATION  FOR  CONFLICT  87 

Members  relinquish  to  the  association  all  rights  to 
deal  with  labor  in  any  way.  Their  duties  in  this  respect 
are  defined  as  follows  : 

Each  member  of  this  corporation  shall  be  bound  and  gov- 
erned by  the  Declaration  of  Principles  of  this  corporation  in 
all  his  relations  with  his  lithographic  employees  or  with  or- 
ganized labor  in  the  lithographic  trade,  and  shall  also  be  re- 
quired to  strictly  observe  such  additional  rules  and  regula- 
tions as  may  from  time  to  time  be  adopted  by  this  corporation 
or  the  Board  of  Directors  thereof,  or  any  committee  acting 
by  the  authority  of  such  Board  of  Directors,  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  relations  of  the  members  of  this  corporation  with 
such  employees  and  to  such  organized  labor. 

No  member  shall  do  any  act  whatsoever  which  is  likely  to 
jeopardize  the  peaceful  relations  with  his  employees,  nor  shall 
he  change  or  attempt  to  change  such  relations  without  previous 
permission  of  the  Board  of  Directors. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  each  member  of  this  corporation, 
upon  receipt  of  any  demand  from  organized  labor  in  the  litho- 
graphic trade  or  upon  any  disagreement  between  himself,  his 
firm,  or  the  corporation  of  which  he  is  a  member  and  the  litho- 
graphic employees  of  himself,  his  firm,  or  his  corporation,  to 
at  once  report  such  demand  or  disagreement  to  the  local  ex- 
ecutive committee  of  his  group  and  to  the  National  Secretary, 
and  he  shall  accept  the  intervention  or  intercession  of  this 
corporation  and  shall  yield  to  this  corporation  control  and 
direction  of  the  settlement  of  such  demands  or  disagreement, 
and  shall  obey  and  carry  out  all  the  directions  of  this  corpora- 
tion as  conveyed  to  him  by  the  local  executive  committee  or 
through  any  regularly  authorized  agent  of  this  corporation. 

Any  member  of  this  corporation  who  shall  fail  to  so 
promptly  report  any  such  disagreement,  demand  or  contro- 
versy shall  forfeit  all  claims  to  assistance  from  this  corpora- 
tion in  the  settlement  of  such  demand  or  disagreement,  and 
may  be  punished  after  due  trial  in  accordance  with  the  pro- 
visions of  this  Constitution.^ 

1  Article  VIIL,  section  i. 


88  THE  LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [504 

Such  provisions  arc  : 

A  mcinber  who  shall  violate  any  provision  of  this  Constitu- 
tion, do  any  act  injurious  to  this  corporation,  or  brin^  it  into 
disrepute,  or  refuse  or  neglect  to  obey  or  comply  with  any 
resolution,  order  or  direction  of  the  Board  of  Directors  or  of 
a  committee,  and  any  member  who  represents  a  firm  or  cor- 
poration, and  who  permits  or  suffers  his  firm  or  corporation 
to  do,  or  neglect  to  do  any  of  such  things,  may  be  disciplined 
or  suspended  from  his  rights  and  privileges  as  a  member,  or 
expelled  from  this  corporation ;  and  upon  expulsion  he  shall 
immediately   forfeit  all  property,  claims  and  benefits,   rights 

and  privileges  in  this  corporation  and  in  its  property 

Any  member  who  shall  enter  into  any  agreement  in  writing 
with  any  lithographic  labor  organization,  shall  by  such  act 
work  his  own  immediate  expulsion  without  further  act  on  the 
part  of  this  corporation  or  its  Board  of  Directors.^ 

In  case  of  a  disagreement  between  a  member  of  the 
association  and  his  employees,  "the  Local  Executive 
Committee  shall  take  full  charge  of  the  controversy  until 
otherwise  directed  by  the  Board.  No  settlement  shall 
be  made  without  the  approval  of  the  Board." ^ 

As  already  noted,  no  protection  is  given  to  members 
who  violate  the  laws  of  the  association ; 

but  to  such  members  as  have  fulfilled  all  the  requirements  as 
aforesaid,  this  corporation  shall  at  once  through  its  Board 
of  Directors  extend  to  the  member  or  members  involved  the 
full   weight   and   support   of   this   corporation,    including   the 

1  Article  I.,  section  6.  This  section  was  amended  on  July  i,  1907,  to 
provide  for  fines  in  cases  of  violation  by  members,  in  addition  to  the 
penalties  named  above,  and  for  the  means  of  trying  finable  offenses  by 
courts  of  inquiry.  The  decisions  of  such  courts  are  final  except  where 
fines  exceed  five  hundred  dollars;  in  these  cases  appeal  may  be  made 
to  the  Board  of  Directors. 

2  Article  VIII.,  section  2. 


505]  PREPARATION  FOR  CONFLICT  go 

securing  of  men  or  employees,  and  through  ordering  other 
members,  firms  or  corporations  to  perform  work  necessary  to 
be  done  for  such  member  or  members,  their  firms  or  cor- 
porations.^ 

In  addition,  members  are  protected  in  the  following 
manner : 

The  Board  of  Directors  may  loan  to  any  member  from  the 
funds  of  this  corporation  an  amount  not  exceeding  the  mem- 
bership fees  of  such  member,  provided  such  fees  have  been 
paid  into  the  treasury  of  the  corporation  in  cash,  and  such 
paid  into  the  treasury  of  the  corporation  in  cash,  and  such 
a  note  made  by  himself,  and  if  such  member  represents  a  firm 
or  corporation,  endorsed  by  such  firm  or  corporation.  Such 
note  shall  be  made  payable  three  months  after  date  and  its 
date  shall  not  be  filled  in,  but  shall  be  blank.  The  blank  in 
the  date  of  said  note  may  be  filled  in  at  any  time  that  this 
corporation  shall  determine  to  collect  or  negotiate  the  said 
note,  by  either  the  President  or  the  Treasurer  of  this  corpora- 
tion, or  by  any  person  authorized  so  to  do  by  the  Board  of 
Directors.  .  .  .  Such  note  shall  at  all  times  represent  present 
legal  debts  from  such  member  to  this  corporation,  and  the 
statute  of  limitations  shall  not  be  pleaded  or  taken  advantage 
of  by  any  maker  or  endorser  of  such  note.^ 

Factionalism  had  disappeared.  Alliances  were  dis- 
carded as  ineffective.  Even  a  strong  organization  for 
defensive  purposes  did  not  produce  the  results  desired. 
Only  an  association  with  control  sufficiently  centralized 
as  to  insure  the  success  of  offensive  action  could  meet 
the  needs  of  the  employers.  Under  the  form  of  organi- 
zation outlined  above,  the  new  National  Association  of 
Employing    Lithographers    assumed    the   offensive   and 

1  Article  VIII.,  section  3. 

2  Article  XI.,  section  5. 


go  THE  LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  ^c,o6 

Started  a  new  regime  in  the  industry — ;i  regime  in  which 
organized  labor  has  no  voice. 

Meantime,  the  unions  were  more  or  less  inactive. 
They  knew  something  of  what  was  happening  within 
the  ranks  of  the  employers  ;  yet  they  did  not  take  im- 
mediate steps  to  meet  this  new  enemy.  A  little  later, 
after  hostilities  had  begun,  they  tried  to  take  advantage 
of  what  they  in  turn  had  learned  from  their  employers. 
But  by  this  time  the  employers  had  again  found  new 
possibilities  in  organization.  By  the  time  the  struggle 
was  well  started,  the  unions  found  themselves  opposed, 
not  only  by  an  organization  of  their  employers,  but  by 
the  united  power  of  all  organized  capital  which  was  in- 
terested, directly  or  indirectly,  in  the  outcome  of  the 
struggle  for  control  of  labor  conditions  in  the  lithog- 
raphic industry. 


CHAPTER  VI 
Open  Shop  Established 

To  the  secretaryship  of  the  new  association,  the  president 
appointed  a  lawyer — a  man  who  had  served  as  counsel  for 
various  other  associations  of  employers  hostile  to  unionism 
and  who  had  made  a  reputation  as  a  successful  organizer 
of  "  open  shops."  The  success  of  the  association  in  its 
labor  policy  has  been  due  very  largely  to  the  direction  of 
this  secretary ;  partly  because  of  his  skill  in  keeping  the  em- 
ployers together  and  in  breaking  up  the  unions,  and  partly 
because  of  his  other  business  connections  which  have  ma- 
terially aided  the  cause  of  the  employers  in  this  industry. 

The  new  association  pushed  its  campaign  for  members, 
laid  its  plans  for  outside  assistance  in  case  of  trouble  with 
the  unions,  and  awaited  developments.  Upon  receipt  of  the 
48  hour  demand  from  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.,  the  president  ^ 
replied  on  July  20,  1906,  as  follows  : 

Our  Association  does  not  refuse  the  forty-eight  hour  week. 
Neither  does  it  accept  it.  As  an  Association,  it  believes  that 
this  question  can  best  be  settled  by  a  conference  between  com- 
mittees of  the  two  organizations  with  full  power. 

To  this  letter  the  president  of  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  replied 
on  July  21,  that  the  union  would  not  grant  such  power  and 
added,  "  I,  for  one,  would  not  accept  it." 

1  All  communications  sent  out  by  the  association  are  signed  by  the 
president;  but,  with  few  exceptions,  they  are  written  by  the  secretary. 
507]  91 


92  THE  LITHOCRAPIUC  INDUSTRY  [508 

'Hie  association  ininicdiately  perfected  its  plans  for  de- 
claring open  shop.  The  letter  to  the  members  which  carried 
the  inforniatitm  concerning  such  declaration  said  in  part : 

The  Board  of  Directors  now  feel  that  the  lithographic  trade 
is  about  to  "  shake  off  its  shackles  "  and  to  emerge  from  the 
present  struggle  with  conditions  that  ought  to  prevail  at  all 
times,  and  in  which  the  man  who  owns  the  shop  is  the  man 
who  controls  it. 

Although  prepared  to  open  the  fight  against  the  unions, 
the  association  waited  for  the  latter  to  make  the  first  break 
in  order  to  have  public  sentiment  on  its  side.  At  a  confer- 
ence between  the  officers  of  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  and  rep- 
resentatives of  the  association  on  x\ugust  i.  the  latter  again 
asked  the  former  to  obtain  full  power  to  negotiate  a  settle- 
ment of  their  differences  and  received  the  same  reply  as  be- 
fore.    The  representatives  of  the  association  then  said : 

We  therefore  now  offer  to  arbitrate  all  questions  and  dif- 
ferences between  us.  and  with  that  end  in  view  we  will  appoint 
one  arbitrator,  you  to  appoint  one,  and  the  two  so  selected  to 
appoint  a  third,  both  sides  to  be  bound  by  the  decision  of  the 
Board  of  Arbitration. 

We  will  submit  to  that  Board  any  question  which  may 
exist  and  concerning  which  we  may  differ.  We  believe  that 
the  justice  or  injustice  of  any  stand  taken  by  either  the  em- 
ployer or  the  employee  can  be  determined  by  such  a  Board 
and  that  it  will  determine  the  questions  by  basing  its  judg- 
ment solely  upon  principles  of  justice.  We  do  not  believe  that 
any  power  which  you  may  think  you  possess  and  which  you 
may  think  is  sufficient  for  the  enforcement  of  any  demand 
can  ever  demonstrate  the  fairness  or  justice  of  such  demand. 

Partly  because  of  the  bitter  feeling  engendered  by  the  free 
indulgence  in  personalities  at  this  conference,  and  partly  be- 
cause the  union  was  unwilling  to  give  its  officers  any  power 


509]  OPEN  SHOP  ESTABLISHED  g-^ 

which  would  prevent  it  from  securing  the  48  hour  week,  such 
a  proposal  met  expected  rejection.  Following  this  rejection, 
the  association  issued  this  declaration  of  "open  shop"  against 
the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A. : 

Whereas,  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  have  committed  a  hostile 
act  against  this  Association  and  its  members  in  that  said  L.  I. 
P.  and  B.  A.  have  refused  an  offer  to  arbitrate  the  demand 
they  have  made  for  a  forty-eight  hour  week,  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  that  the  National  Association  of  Employing 
Lithographers  adheres  to  its  declaration  of  principles  and 
favors  the  settlement  of  all  disputes  with  unions  by  the  refer- 
ence of  such  questions  to  properly  constituted  boards  of  con- 
ference and  arbitration ;  and  it  is  further 

Resolved,  that  the  open  shop  ought  to  be,  and  with  due 
regard  for  the  existence  and  welfare  of  the  lithographic  trade 
must  be,  declared  toward  any  union  which  has  repudiated 
such  a  plan  of  amicable  adjustment  and  has  insisted  upon 
resting  the  justice  of  its  demands  upon  a  strike  and  a  test  of 
strength ;  and  it  is  further 

Resolved,  that  in  the  departments  in  which  the  members  of 
the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  have  been  or  are  employed,  the  open 
shop  shall  hereafter  exist  and  its  principles  be  enforced.  It 
is  further 

Resolved,  that  a  copy  of  this  resolution  be  conspicuously 
posted  in  the  plants  of  all  members  of  the  Association,  and 
any  pressman,  prover,  transferrer,  or  other  member  of  the  L. 
I.  P.  and  B.  A.,  who  shall  report  to  work  after  such  posting 
shall  be  deemed  to  have  assented  to  this  resolution  in  all  its 
provisions. 

Applicants  for  employment  were  given  the  following  em- 
ployment contract : 

We  herewith  employ  you  as  a in  our 

Department,  for  a  period  of year.  . .  from  above  date, 

your  work  to  be  under  the  direction  of  the  Company  and  sub- 


94  THE  UTIIOCRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [510 

ject  to  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  Company,  it  being 
understood  that  fifty-three  (53)  hours  are  to  constitute  a 
week's  work,  and  that  overtime  shall  be  paid  for  at  time  and 
one  half  rate,  and  work  on  Sundays  and  holidays  is  to  be  paid 
for  at  double  time  rate. 

Your  compensation  shall  be  at  the  rate  of  not  less  than 
for  fifty-three  (53)  hours  work. 

We  agree  to  give  you  permanent  employment  during  the 
continuance  of  this  agreement ;  we  are  to  be  under  no  obliga- 
tion to  pay  you  for  time  lost  by  you  on  legal  holidays,  or 
through  sickness  or  vacation,  which  vacation  shall  not  exceed 

days  in  any  one  year,  and  shall  be  taken  only  at  such 

time  in  the  year  as  suits  the  business  of  the  Company. 

In  case  of  destruction  of  or  injury  to  the  plant  or  machinery 
by  fire,  explosion,  necessity  for  repairs,  disturbance  of  busi- 
ness by  strike  or  other  cause  or  calamity  beyond  the  control 
of  the  employer,  the  employer  shall  have  the  right  to  shut 
down  its  plant  in  whole  or  in  part  until  the  cause  of  such 
stoppage  shall  with  proper  diligence  and  dispatch  be  overcome, 
and  during  such  time  the  employer  will  not  be  liable  for  wages 
or  damages. 

The  above  contract  was  sent  out  by  the  association  as  a 
sample,  with  the  instructions,  '*  Typewrite  them  on  your 
letter-head."  Partly  as  an  inducement  to  get  the  better 
trained,  reliable  men  to  return  to  w^ork,  the  following  pro- 
tection contract  was  offered  them : 

NATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  EMPLOYING  LITHOGRAPHERS 

Protection  Contract 

In  consideration  of entering  into  and  con- 
tinuing in  the  employment  of  or  any  other 

member  of  the  National  Association  of  Employing  Litho- 
graphers, the  Association  hereby  pledges  and  agrees  for  the 
full  term  of  five  years  from  the  date  hereof,  to  use  its  entire 
strength  and  power  to  protect  the  said  employee  while  in  the 
employment  of  any  of  its  members,  and  to  guarantee  to  him 


51 1  ]  OPEN  SHOP  ESTABLISHED  ^5 

the  right  to  work  unmolested  and  peaceably  side  by  side  with 
other  workmen,  either  union  or  non-union. 

It  further  agrees  that  the  wages  to  be  paid  to  said  employee 
while  in  the  employment  of  any  of  its  members  shall  not  be 
less  than  the  present  minimum  scale  unless  he  is  now  receiving 
a  lesser  amount,  in  which  case  it  shall  not  be  lowered,  and 
that  the  rate  of  wages  for  overtime  and  holiday  work  shall 
not  be  lowered. 

National  Association  of  Employing  Lithographers, 

By 

Dated  August  i,  1906. 

This  paper  shall  not  take  effect  until  attested  by  the  written 
signature  of  a  member  of  the  National  Association  of  Em- 
ploying Lithographers. 

Attested  by 

Member  of  National  Association  of 
Employing  Lithographers. 

However,  the  association  had  another  object  in  view  in 
granting  these  protection  agreements,  for  each  one  who 
signed  such  a  paper  was  also  asked  to  sign  the  following  anti- 
strike  contract : 

NATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF   EMPLOYING   LITHOGRAPHERS. 

I,  the  undersigned,  in  consideration  of  the  signing  of  a  pro- 
tection agreement  by  the  National  Association  of  Employing 
Lithographers,  which  bears  date  of  August  ist,  1906,  and  for 
other  considerations  ^  not  herein  attempted  to  be  expressed, 
do  hereby  agree  as  part  of  the  consideration  therof : 

1  Such  as  life-insurance  policies,  bonuses,  and  other  inducements 
offered  by  the  employers.  For  example,  the  employers  of  one  city  gave 
a  bonus  of  five  dollars  per  week  in  addition  to  the  regular  wages,  pay- 
able at  the  end  of  ten  weeks,  provided  the  men  remained  at  work  during 
that  time.  An  additional  bonus  of  five  dollars  was  given  to  each  man 
bringing  in  or  assisting  in  bringing  in  a  new  man. — General  letter  no.  12. 
Another  member  of  the  association  gave  his  employees  a  five  hundred 
dollar  life-insurance  policy  in  return  for  their  signature  to  the  anti- 
strike  agreement. — General  letter  no.  507. 


()6  THE  LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [ri2 

I  shall  not  directly  or  indirectly  counsel,  advise,  participate 
or  aid  in  the  declaration  of  any  strike  against  the  business  of 
any  present  or  future  member  of  said  Association,  nor  in  the 
establishment  or  continuance  thereof,  nor  in  any  measure, 
financial  or  otherwise,  designed  to  make  it  effective. 

I  shall  in  no  event  picket  any  such  business  nor  with  refer- 
ence thereto  carry  on  or  participate  in  any  system  of  espionage. 

I  shall  not  persuade  nor  attempt  to  persuade  any  of  the 
employees  of  such  a  business  to  leave  their  employment. 

Still  another  form  of  contract  adopted  later  began  as 
follows : 

You  represent  to  us  that  you  are  not  a  union  man  and  agree 
not  to  hereafter  join  any  union  without  our  written  consent. 
In  consideration  of  this  representation  and  the  performance 

of  the  promise,  we  hereby  employ  you  as  a for 

a  period  of years ^ 

The  object  of  these  contracts  is  expressed  in  a  letter  sent 
out  from  the  office  of  the  association  on  August  23,  1906. 
The  letter  reads  in  part  as  follows : 

It  would  be  a  calamity  to  the  lithographic  trade  if  the  strike 
were  to  break  at  the  present  time  and  the  men  were  permitted 
to  come  back  to  work  under  the  open  shop  system.  If  the 
strike  were  to  end  today  there  might  be  a  repetition  of  the 
present  strike  next  year  or  the  year  after  next.  We  want  the 
strike  to  last  long  enough  to  enable  us  to  sign  contracts  with 
35%  of  the  men,  and  then  the  open  shop  is  here  and  can  be 
maintained ;  and  another  strike  will  be  an  impossibility.  Make 
individual  contracts  mean  a  preservation  of  the  open  shop.^ 

Every  man  who  returned  to  work  was  forced  to  resign 
from  his  union  by  signing  a  form  of  resignation  which  the 

'  General  letter  no.  104. 

'  General  letter  no.  20.     Copies  of  all  individual  contracts  were  for- 
warded to  the  general  office  of  the  association. 


513]  OPEN  SHOP  ESTABLISHED  gy 

employer  sent  directly  to  the  headquarters  of  the  proper 
union.     The  resignation  read  as  follows : 

I  hereby  resign  without  any  resei-vation  from  the  .  .  .  ., 
this  resignation  to  take  effect  inimediately. 

Later  a  more  elaborate  form  of  resignation  was  used,  a 
sample  of  which  is  as  follows  : 

Subordinate  Association  No.  i, 
L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A., 

No.  25  Third  Ave., 
New  York  City. 

Mr ,  President : — 

Being  fully  satisfied  that  the  action  of  your  organization  in 
ordering  the  present  strike  against  the  employers  is  wrong, 
because  the  employers  offered  to  arbitrate  the  question  of  the 
forty-eight  hour  week,  which  offer  it  is  clearly  shown  you 
declined,  and  feeling  that  I  am  warranted  by  the  action  of  the 
union  which  they  have  taken  in  striking  against  the  employers 
as  they  have  done,  I  hereby  tender  my  resignation,  to  take 
effect  immediately. 

Respectfully  yours, 


This  form  of  resignation  also  was  furnished  by  the  associa- 
tion and  when  signed  it  was  mailed  by  the  employer  to  the 
headquarters  of  the  union. 

On  August  2,  1906,  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  declared  a 
strike  against  the  "  open  shop  "  as  thus  interpreted  by  the 
employers'  association.  Although  the  other  unions  had 
advised  against  the  attempt  to  secure  the  48  hour  week  at 
this  time,  they  were  now  placed  in  the  position  of  supporting 
the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.  strike  or  being  considered  "  scabs  " 
by  all  organized  labor.     All  but  the  Stone  and  Plate  Pre- 

^  General  letter  no.  51.     Dated  September  22,  1906. 


98  THE  LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [514 

parens'  I'niou  tried  to  maintain  neutrality,  but  gradually  in- 
dividuals and  unions  became  involved  in  the  strike  until  only 
the  Poster  Artists'  Association  remained  on  friendly  terms 
with  the  employers.*  Whenever  a  union  took  an  active  part 
in  the  strike,  the  association  declared  "  open  shop  "  against 
it  and  applied  to  it  tlie  same  tactics  as  to  the  L.  I.  P.  and 
B.  A. 

Adhering  to  the  letter  of  its  constitution,  the  association 
took  full  charge  of  the  strike.  No  member  was  permitted 
to  give  to  the  press  or  to  make  public  in  any  way  any  state- 
ment or  news  not  authorized  by  the  association.  Occasion- 
ally a  prepared  statement  was  sent  to  the  members  with 
instructions  to  see  that  it  reached  the  press. 

A  list  of  all  strikers,  containing  such  supplementary  in- 
formation as  to  make  it  a  potential  blacklist,  was  compiled 
and  kept  for  future  reference.^  Efforts  were  made  by  the 
association  to  create  dissension  within  the  unions  in  the  hope 
of  causing  a  bolt  from  union  policies.  In  general  letter  no. 
7,  the  association  instructed  its  members  as  follows : 

If  you  can  get  one  or  two  men  to  break  away  from  the 
union  and  to  consent  to  come  back  under  the  open  shop  rules, 
it  might  be  just  as  well  to  put  him  on  your  pay  and  allow 
him  to  attend  the  union  meetings  for  a  week  or  so,  and,  by  his 
conversation,  create  a  disaffection  in  the  union.  One  or  two 
men  talking  in  that  way  in  the  union  might  do  you  a  great 
deal  more  good  than  the  same  men  working  in  your  shop  for 
a  week  or  two.  This  thing  has  been  tried  with  success  by  one 
of  our  members  in  the  West. 

In  addition  to  the  efforts  of  the  association  in  trying  to 

'  It  should  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  artists  had  no  personal  interest 
in  this  demand  since  they  were  already  working  less  than  48  hours 
per  week. 

*  General  letter  no.  6. 


515]  OPEN  SHOP  ESTABLISHED  go 

influence  public  opinion  directly  by  the  control  of  the  news 
which  reached  the  press,  an  active  campaign  was  waged  to 
secure  the  moral  and  financial  aid  of  manufacturers'  and  em- 
ployers' associations  throughout  the  country.  Among  the 
associations  which  were  given  credit  for  rendering  valuable 
assistance  were  the  following :  National  Association  of  Man- 
ufacturers; Citizens'  Industrial  Association  of  America; 
Illinois  Manufacturers'  Association;  Commercial  Associa- 
tion of  Chicago;  Employers'  Association  of  Chicago;  Mer- 
chant Tailors'  National  Protective  Association  of  America; 
Chicago  Typothetae;  National  Paint,  Oil,  and  Varnish  x^s- 
sociation;  Manufacturers'  Association  of  New  York;  Em- 
ployers' Association  of  Cincinnati ;  Citizens'  Industrial  As- 
sociation of  St.  Louis;  American  Newspaper  Publishers' 
Association ;  National  Association  of  Cotton  Manufacturers ; 
Employers'  Association  of  Kansas  City;  Carriage  Builders' 
National  Association;  Citizens'  Alliance  of  Seattle;  Foun- 
ders' and  Employers'  Association  of  Los  Angeles;  Associa- 
tion of  Employing  Bookbinders,  New  York;  etc/  There 
were  408  local  and  national  associations  of  manufacturers 
and  employers  and  220  large  corporations  which  received  in- 
formation stating  the  employers'  side  of  the  controversy,' 
while  it  was  stated  that  "  hundreds  of  employers'  associa- 
tions are  cooperating  with  us."^ 

The  aid  proffered  by  these  associations  varied  from 
direct  assistance,  such  as  legal  advice  and  the  use  of  detec- 
tives, to  the  indirect  aid  furnished  through  the  distribution 
of  pamphlets.  It  was  claimed  that  the  Citizens'  Industrial 
Association  of  America  alone  sent  out  thousands  of  circular 
letters  and  pamphlets  to  chambers  of  commerce,  employers' 

^  General  letters  nos.  10,  24,  25,  and  31. 
2  General  letter  no.  28. 
^  General  letter  no.  13. 


TOO  THE  LITIIOCRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [c,i6 

associations,  and  indivicliials,  stating  the  cause  of  the  strike 
and  the  proposed  remedies  for  such  disturbances.'  Other 
asstxriations  served  as  distributing  agencies  for  the  mass  of 
letters  and  other  hterature  issued  by  the  association  and  its 
sympathizers. 

The  aid  furnished  through  the  circulation  of  such  infor- 
mation may  be  classified  into  three  kinds:  First,  such  cir- 
culars and  pamphlets  and  the  quotations  from  the  same 
which  appeared  in  the  daily  press  or  were  given  publicity 
in  other  ways  influenced  public  opinion;  second,  the  wide- 
spread interest  in  the  cause  of  the  employing  lithographers, 
created  thereby,  influenced  customers  and  kept  some  who 
otherwise  would  have  sought  satisfaction  elsewhere;  and 
third,  the  encouraging  replies  from  employers  of  labor  all 
over  the  United  States  inspired  the  members  of  the  associa- 
tion to  fight  the  strike  to  a  finish.  The  association  claimed 
that  it  controlled  within  the  organization  75  per  cent  of  the 
presses  of  the  country  and  that  an  additional  ten  per  cent 
was  working  in  harmony  with  its  labor  policy.''  This  is 
probably  an  overstatement.  At  any  rate  the  members  soon 
began  to  feel  the  effects  of  the  competition  of  the  non- 
association  shops  which  compromised  or  settled  with  the 
unions  and  continued  operations. 

The  encouraging  replies  from  the  employers  of  labor  in 
other  industries  were  a  potent  influence  in  keeping  the 
members  of  the  association  true  to  its  declaration  of  prin- 
ciples. Especially  was  this  influence  needed  when  many  of 
the  non-association  employers  in  the  industry  granted  the 
48  hour  week  rather  than  face  a  prolonged  strike.  The 
relative  numbers  of  employers  who  granted  the  demands 
of  the  unions  and  those  who  refused  them  were  as  follows : 

^  General  letter  no.  24. 
"General  letter  no.  4. 


517]  OPEN  SHOP  ESTABLISHED  lOi 

City  Number  of  shops  granting        Number  of  shops 

48  hour  week  on  strike 

New  York 44  38 

Philadelphia 19  i 

Providence i  2 

Springfield,  Mass 3  3 

Rochester   6  6 

Buffalo  3  7 

Cleveland 3  S 

Chicago  15  22 

Milwaukee 4  7 

St.  Louis 7  31 

Cincinnati  8  10 

Pittsburg 6  o 

Denver 6  o 

Louisville 6  5 

Baltimore 8  3 

San  Francisco 28  o 

This  is  an  incomplete  report  up  to  August  13.^  However, 
the  mere  number  of  shops  is  hardly  a  fair  basis  for  com- 
parison in  this  respect  since  for  the  most  part  the  small  shops 
granted  the  48  hour  week  while  the  large  shops  refused  it. 

It  is  admitted  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  strike  the  as- 
sociation shops  were  thoroughly  unionized.  The  induce- 
ments offered  by  the  employers  and  the  association  tempted 
a  few  members  of  the  various  unions  to  desert  their  organi- 
zations and  return  to  work.  Gradually  this  number  in- 
creased until  on  September  7,  the  following  statement  of  the 
extent  of  operations  was  published :  ^ 

Number  of  shops  reporting  Extent  of  operations 
66  34%  of  presses 

58  44%  of  artists 

62  28%  of  transferrers 

39  47%,  of  p rovers 

60  27%  of  printers 

"•  National  Lithographer,  August,  1906,  p.  9. 

^  Undoubtedly  an  overstatement  although  strike  breakers  were  em- 
ployed wherever  possible. 


102  i'tii--  I.lTllOCRAPmC  INDUSTRY  [518 

This  represented  such  a  small  percentage  of  the  capacity 
of  the  industry  enrolled  in  the  association  that  meml)ers 
began  to  be  impatient  and  to  urge  compromise  with  the 
unions  in  order  to  get  their  plants  in  operation  again  and 
thus  check  the  losses  which  they  were  suffering.  The  offi- 
cers of  the  association  were  opposed  to  any  such  compromise 
since  to  take  back  the  men  without  forcing  their  resigna- 
tion from  the  unions,  even  though  they  should  withdraw 
their  demands,  would  mean  that  they  would  retain  the  spirit 
of  unionism,  rebuild  their  unions,  and  make  other  demands 
at  some  future  time.  In  order  to  prevent  this,  the  officers 
of  the  association  w^ished  to  crush  unionism  in  the  industry, 
once  and  for  all.  Accordingly,  the  board  of  directors  of 
the  association,  on  September  22,  1906,  passed  the  following 
resolutions : 

Whereas,  the  National  Association  of  Employing  Lithog- 
raphers have  declared  the  open  shop  in  respect  to  such  unions 
as  by  refusing  arbitration  and  by  striking  have  seriously  en- 
dangered the  welfare  of  the  lithographic  industry, 

And  whereas,  for  nearly  eight  weeks  the  strikers  have  had 
the  opportunity  to  return  to  work  and  have  refused  to  do  so. 
and  have  rejected  and  repudiated  the  open  shop. 

And  whereas,  thirty-five  per  cent  (35)  ^  of  the  presses  of 
the  country  struck  August  2nd  are  now  running  under  pres- 
ent conditions. 

And  whereas,  the  restriction  of  output  being  removed  from 
said  presses,  they  show  a  material  increase  in  production. 

It  is  resolved:  That  in  order  to  maintain  the  conditions 
which  have  been  established  by  the  members  of  this  Associa- 
tion, and  in  order  to  prevent  the  control  of  the  industry  from 
again  drifting  into  union  hands,  no  member  of  this  National 
Association  of  Employing  Lithographers  shall  take  back,  until 
further  order  by  the  Board  of  Directors,  any  workman  who 

^  Probably  an  overstatement. 


519]  OPEN  SHOP  ESTABLISHED  IO3 

retains  his  membership  in  the  Lithographers'  International 
Protective  and  Beneficial  Association  of  the  United  States 
and  Canada,  the  Lithographic  Artists',  Engravers'  and  De- 
signers' League  of  America,  the  International  Association  of 
Lithographic  Apprentices  and  Press  Feeders  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  and  the  Lithographic  Stone  and  Plate 
Preparers'  Association  of  the  United  States  and  Canada.^ 

Five  w^eeks  later,  on  October  23,  the  total  number  of 
resignations  v^as  reported  as  follows :  ^ 

Members  of  Artists',  Engravers'  and  Designers  League  ....  96 

Members  of  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A 135 

Members  of  Press  Feeders'  Union 61 

Members  of  Stone  and  Plate  Preparers'  Union 24 

Total  316 

This  represented  resignations  of  men  employed  in  179 
establishments  which  were  either  members  of  the  association 
or  were  cooperating  with  it  in  its  strike  policy  and  which 
collectively  controlled  1094  presses.  The  number  of  men 
employed  on  August  i  in  establishments  controlling  approxi- 
mately 900  of  these  1094  presses  was  as  follows  : 

Occupation  Number  of  men 

Artist 805 

Transferrer 74^ 

Prover 115 

Pressman 775 

Feeder 720 

Stone  Preparer 243 

Total 3406 

Of  the  total  number,  1638  had  been  members  of  the  L.  I.  P. 
and  B.  A.,  including  the  transferrers,  provers,  and  pressmen. 
The  others  had  belonged  to  their  respective  unions. 

*  General  letter  no.  51. 

*  General  letter  no.  84.     Probably  an  incomplete  record. 


I04  THE  LITIIOCRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [-20 

This  tabic  shows  that  on  the  above  date  less  than  ten  per 
cent  oi  the  strikers  were  reported  to  have  returned  to  work. 
As  the  strike  continued,  however,  the  reserve  funds  of  the 
unions  l)egan  to  be  exhausted.  Finding  it  increasingly  diffi- 
cult to  keep  their  members  from  deserting  their  organizations 
when  strike  benefits  were  discontinued  for  lack  of  funds, 
some  of  the  union  officers  also  began  to  talk  compromise  and 
to  make  requests  for  conference.  Disinterested  people  of- 
fered their  services  to  both  parties  as  mediators  of  the  strike. 
All  such  requests  and  offers  were  refused  by  the  association. 
Finally  the  position  of  the  employers  was  most  emphatically 
summarized  in  the  following  statement,  which  was  made 
public  on  November  6 : 

The  officers  and  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Association,  and 
every  single  member  of  the  Association  are  positively  and 
finally  and  unalterably  opposed  to  any  species  of  conference 
with  any  of  the  unions  on  strike.  ...  As  to  us,  there  is  no 
labor  union  in  the  lithographic  trade  in  the  departments  in 
which  the  strike  has  been  carried  on} 

In  order  to  get  their  members  at  work  again  without  break- 
ing up  their  organizations,  some  of  the  unions  voted  to  let 
their  members  return  to  work  with  whomsoever  they  saw 
fit.  They  were  even  permitted  to  sign  resignations  from 
the  unions  with  the  understanding  that  such  resignations 
would  not  be  accepted  and  that  they  would  continue  their 
allegiance  in  secret.  The  employers  detected  some  such 
cases  and  immediately  discharged  those  men  practicing  fraud 
in  regard  to  union  membership.  This  served  as  a  deterrent 
against  a  greater  number  of  fraudulent  resignations. 

Before  the  strike  was  broken,  several  of  the  employers, 
members  of  the  association,  were  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy. 
In   order  to  prevent  them   from  making  terms   with   the 

^  General  letter  no.  99. 


52 1  ]  OPEN  SHOP  ESTABLISHED  105 

unions,  rather  than  face  financial  ruin,  the  association  made 
loans  to  them  under  article  XL,  section  5  of  its  constitution, 
which  made  ruin  more  sure  and  more  immediate  should  they 
recognize  the  unions  in  any  way.  In  a  few  instances  mem- 
bers of  the  association  did  make  terms  with  the  unions  in 
violation  of  their  contract  with  the  association.  In  one 
such  case  in  which  such  employer's  note  was  negotiated  by 
the  association  and  the  proceeds  confiscated,  the  courts  were 
called  upon  to  decide  the  legality  of  such  regulations,  passed 
and  enforced  by  an  employers'  association. 

In  March,  1907,  one  of  the  large  lithographic  establish- 
ments in  Brooklyn  made  an  agreement  with  the  L.  I.  P. 
and  B.  A.  by  which  the  hours  of  labor  were  to  be  fixed  at 
51  per  week  until  July  i,  1907;  50  from  that  date  until 
January  i,  1908;  49  for  the  following  six  months;  and  48 
after  July  i,  1908.  This  agreement  was  made  by  the  officers 
of  the  national  union  and  was  later  nullified  by  the  New 
York  local  so  that  the  employer  never  reaped  any  advant- 
age. Nevertheless,  the  association  took  action  to  negotiate 
the  note  of  the  firm  for  $17,500.  The  firm  applied  for  an 
injunction  to  prevent  the  negotiation  of  the  above  note 
and  asked  that  the  court  cause  the  note  to  be  canceled  on 
the  ground  that  such  a  note  was  legally  void  and  unenforce- 
able; that  the  resolutions  which  established  a  closed  shop 
against  union  men  were  in  direct  violation  of  the  declared 
object  of  the  association — namely,  open  shop;  that  there- 
fore such  resolutions  were  invalid  and  that  the  court  could 
not  enforce  an  unlawful  rule  by  sustaining  the  forfeit  of 
the  amount  of  the  note.  The  case  was  won  by  the  employer 
in  the  lower  courts  and  was  carried  by  the  association  to  the 
Appellate  Division  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  York. 
This  court  reversed  the  decision  of  the  lower  courts,  by  a 
vote  of  three  to  two,  and  ruled  in  favor  of  the  association.^ 

1  See  Sackett  &  Williams  L.  &  P.  Co.  v.  Nat.  Assn.  Lith.,  148  A.  D. 
N.  Y.  608  for  text  of  the  decision. 


lo6  THE  LITHOGRArillC  INDUSTRY  [522 

This  l(x:kout-strike  probably  cost  the  unions  in  actual 
cash  expenses  and  in  lost  wages  at  least  $1,000,000.  They 
lost  the  right  to  have  a  voice  in  the  determination  of  labor 
conditions  in  the  industry.  Their  membership  declined  and 
with  it  their  bargaining  power.  Some  of  the  aggressive 
leaders  left  the  industry  because  its  doors  were  forever 
closed  against  them.  Since  1907  the  unions  against  whom 
"  open  shop  "  was  declared  have  regained  a  part  of  their 
former  strength.  But  as  yet  they  serve  only  as  reminders 
to  the  employers  of  the  necessity  of  maintaining  their  organ- 
ization intact  as  a  safeguard  against  possible  future  attacks 
upon  their  position  as  dictators  of  labor  conditions  in  their 
industry. 

No  employer  will  venture  an  estimate  of  the  money  price 
lithographic  capital  paid  for  "  open  shop."  At  any  rate, 
it  seems  to  have  been  considered  worth  having  for  the  as- 
sociation is  no  longer  interested  in  "  mutual  government." 
Occasionally  a  member  of  the  association  thinks  that  the 
supremacy  of  the  employers  in  wage  bargaining  in  the  in- 
dustry is  so  firmly  established  that  he  favors  the  dissolution 
of  the  association.    But  the  ghost  of  unionism  keeps  it  intact. 


CHAPTER  VII 
Maintenance  of  Open  Shop 

Since  the  strike  the  association  has  had  no  contracts  with 
unions.  It  has  remained  on  friendly  terms  with  the  Poster 
Artists'  Association,  the  only  union  in  the  industry  which 
did  not  strike  in  1906.  The  reasons  for  the  continuance 
of  friendly  relations  with  this  organization  are  due  to  cir- 
cumstances peculiar  to  the  industry  and  to  this  union. 

Poster  printing  is  a  relatively  small  part  of  the  litho- 
graphic industry.  There  are  but  thirty-five  establishments 
in  the  United  States  engaged  in  this  branch  of  the  work; 
and  of  these  only  six  are  members  of  the  association.  Poster 
printing  is  an  American  industry ;  no  other  country  has  de- 
veloped this  branch  of  lithography.  The  total  number  of 
poster  artists  in  the  country  does  not  exceed  four  hundred. 
The  motion-picture  business  has  greatly  increased  the  de- 
mand for  the  products  of  their  labor.  They  are  a  highly 
skilled  class  of  men  who  consider  themselves  artists  rather 
than  artisans.  In  matters  of  unionism  they  adhere  very 
closely  to  the  provisions  of  their  constitution. 

Although  they  will  not  work  with  non-union  men,  they 
are  opposed  to  trade  agreements  and  have  never  attempted 
to  establish  a  union  wage.  They  realize  that,  regardless  of 
unionism,  the  wage  which  a  workman  can  command  at  a 
particular  time  is  dependent  upon  the  supply  of  such  labor 
and  the  demand  for  it.  Their  statistician  is  always  in  a 
position  to  keep  them  informed  of  the  demands  of  the  trade. 
By  a  rigid  limitation  of  the  number  of  apprentices,  the 
union  has  absolute  control  over  the  available  supply  of  poster 
523]  107 


U)8  THE  LITHOCRArillC  INDUSTRY  [524 

artists.  It  permits  duc  apprentice  to  each  seven  journey- 
men. The  term  of  apprenticeship  is  four  years.  At  the  end 
of  this  time  the  apprentice  may  be  considered  a  joumeyman, 
provided  the  union  is  wilhng. 

The  employers'  association  has  never  been  able  to  break 
up  the  Poster  .Vrtists'  Association.  Since  there  is  no  or- 
ganization of  employing  poster  printers,  the  officers  of  the 
National  Association  of  Employing  Lithographers  take  the 
initiative  in  calling  a  conference  of  such  employers  when- 
ever it  is  desirable  to  ask  concessions  of  this  union.  For 
example,  such  a  conference,  held  in  September,  19 12,  asked 
the  Poster  Artists'  Association  to  make  the  following 
changes  in  its  constitution : 

1.  Overtime  is  any  time  other  than  the  regular  working 
hours  of  the  establishment.  Even  though  the  employee  may 
not  have  worked  the  full  regular  time  of  the  week  in  question, 
except  when  the  time  lost  was  due  to  the  voluntary  action  of 
the  employee,  it  shall  be  paid  for  at  the  rate  of  time  and  a 
half.  In  case  in  any  one  week  regular  time  shall  be  lost  by 
the  voluntary  act  of  the  employee,  he  shall  not  be  entitled  to 
time  and  a  half  for  overtime  until  after  he  shall  have  worked 
the  full  number  of  regular  weekly  hours. 

2.  All  apprentices  shall  be  selected  by  the  Shop  Committee 
of  the  Poster  Artists'  Association  of  America,  working  in  con- 
junction with  one  representative  appointed  by  the  employer. 
The  identity  of  the  contestant  for  the  vacant  apprenticeship 
need  not  be  known  to  the  Shop  Committee  or  to  the  employer's 
representative. 

3.  There  shall  be  an  unskilled  labor  department  in  which 
unskilled  labor  shall  be  permitted  to  fill  in  all  solids  on  plates ; 
all  solids  in  offset  impressions;  and  to  make  enlargements; 
and  such  unskilled  labor  shall  not  be  considered  in  computing 
the  apprentice  ratio. 

4.  The  apprentice  ratio  shall  be  fixed  at  one  (i)  to  six  (6), 
or  major   fraction  thereof,   and  the  number  of  journeymen 


525]  MAINTENANCE  OF  OPEN  SHOP  joo 

shall  be  computed  by  adding  together  the  number  of  the  jour- 
neymen employed  each  month  during  the  previous  calendar 
year  and  dividing  by  twelve  (12),  the  number  of  apprentices 
to  which  each  shop  is  entitled  to  remain  unchanged  during 
the  calendar  year/ 

The  Poster  Artists'  Association  expressed  a  willingness  to 
consider  the  first  two  recommendations  but  refused  to  con- 
cede the  last  two.  Having  no  other  recourse,  since  they 
could  neither  secure  non-union  men  here  nor  import  such 
men,  the  employers  accepted  this  decision.  To  this  extent 
there  is  a  semblance  of  trade  agreement  in  the  poster  print- 
ing branch  of  the  lithographic  industry. 

In  all  other  branches,  the  National  Association  of  Em- 
ploying Lithographers  is  the  law-making  body.  Independ- 
ents follow  its  lead  in  labor  matters.  In  spite  of  the  de- 
claration of  open  shop,  the  association  policy  is  still  non- 
union. In  December,  1907,  the  association  announced  to 
its  members  that  open  shop  was  assured  and  that  they  need 
not  require  of  the  employees  resignations  from  their  unions 
unless  they  wished;  but  added,  "  Our  members  may,  if  they 
choose,  continue  to  exact  resignations  from  their  men  and 
they  may,  if  they  choose,  run  strictly  non-union  shops. 
The  Association  will  not  in  any  way  interfere  with  such 
plans."  " 

Some  shops  are  still  strictly  non-union,  while  others  are 
practically  manned  by  union  men.  In  November,  1909,  one 
of  the  officers  of  the  association,  a  man  who  manages  one 
of  the  largest  establishments  in  the  country,  boasted  that 
"  we  are  a  closed  non-union  shop  from  top  to  bottom."  ^ 

Since  the  strike  the  association  has  maintained  its  hos- 
tility to  those  unions  against  whom  it  declared  "  open  shop  " 

1  General  letter  no.  748.  *  General  letter  no.  279. 

*  General  letter  no.  507. 


110  THE  LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [526 

iind  has  not  modified  its  constitutional  regulations  in  regard 
to  unionism  except  to  make  them  more  rigid.  For  example, 
in  September,  1908,  the  board  of  directors  adopted  the  fol- 
lowing rule  which  is  still  in  force : 

Resolved,  by  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  National  Asso- 
ciation of  Employing  Lithographers  that  no  member  of  this 
Association  shall  at  any  time,  or  in  any  form,  make  use  of  or 
place  upon  his  product  the  union  label  adopted  by  and  be- 
longing to  any  lithographic  union  with  reference  to  which  this 
Association  has  declared  the  open  shop.^ 

Again  in  191 1,  when  the  five-year  individual  contracts  be- 
gan to  expire,  the  association  urged  upon  its  members  the 
necessity  for  renewing  them  "  for  the  same  reasons  as  those 
which  existed  when  the  policy  was  originally  advocated  " ; 
namely,  to  prevent  the  unions  from  regaining  their  former 
strength." 

The  association  continually  insists  that  all  foremen  at 
least  shall  be  strictly  non-union.  Occasionally  a  census  of 
all  employees  of  its  members  is  taken  to  learn  how  many  are 
union  men  and  to  revise  the  lists  kept  by  the  association. 
In  other  ways  the  growth  of  unionism  and  all  union  activities 
are  closely  scrutinized.  Means  are  employed  to  obtain  in- 
formation of  union  activities  which  is  not  meant  for  the 
ears  of  employers. 

The  union  label  resolution  and  the  reasons  for  its  enact- 
ment have  kept  out  of  the  association  some  employers  who 
otherwise  w^ould  like  to  join,  but  whose  business  depends 
largely  upon  work  which  requires  the  union  label  and  who, 
therefore,  cannot  afford  to  lose  such  trade  in  becoming  mem- 
bers of  the  association.  At  least  one  employer  furnishes  a 
label  on  work  where  such  is  required,  without  violating  the 

^General  letter  no.  390.  ^General  letter  no.  651. 


227]  MAINTENANCE  OF  OPEN  SHOP  m 

terms  of  the  above  resolution.  He  has  banded  his  employees 
into  an  organization  which  he  calls  the  American  Litho- 
graphic Union,  Local  No.  i,  and  has  supplied  them  with  a 
suitable  label  which  he  in  turn  uses  when  occasion  requires.^ 
In  its  efforts  to  prevent  the  revival  of  unionism,  the  as- 
sociation has  adopted  the  policy  that  its  members  "  ought, 
so  far  as  possible,  to  bestow  upon  our  employees  all  the  ad- 
vantages which  the  union  could  give  to  them  in  order  that 
there  may  not  be  visited  upon  ourselves  and  our  employees 
the  disadvantages  and  evils  of  unions."  As  early  as  De- 
cember 1908,  the  board  of  directors  submitted  for  dis- 
cussion a  proposal  for  a  48  hour  week."  This  met  with 
considerable  opposition  and  the  48  hour  week  was  not  en- 
acted until  the  annual  meeting  in  1910.  It  went  into  effect 
January  i,  1911.^  Even  after  the  shorter  week  became 
effective,  disgruntled  employers  raised  objections  to  the 
association's  policy.  In  answer  to  these  objections,  the 
president  of  the  association  said : 

So  far  as  the  eight  hours  are  concerned,  it  was  in  part  a 
question  of  good  judgment  as  to  whether  or  not  it  was  worth 
more  to  have  the  eight  hours  and  no  union,  or  to  continue  to 
have  nine  hours  with  the  union  growing  up  again  and  over- 
throwing the  open  shop  and  demanding  the  closed  shop.  In 
other  words,  it  was  a  question  of  judgment  as  to  whether  or 
not  we  should  make  perpetual  the  open  shop  or  whether  we 
should  invite,  at  some  future  date,  another  lithographic 
strike.* 

Another  subject  much  discussed  as  an  offset  to  unionism 
is  the  maintenance  of  health  and  Hfe  insurance.'  The 
unions  formerly  claimed  that  46  per  cent  of  the  lithographic 

1  General  letter  no.  897.  '^General  letter  no.  415. 

» General  letter  no.  559.  *General  letter  no.  640. 

^  General  letter  no.  529,  passim. 


Ilj  THE  LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [1528 

workmen  die  of  tul)crculosis/  while  complaints  of  industrial 
poisonint:^  are  common."  Insurance  has  always  been  a 
strongs  feature  of  unionism  in  the  industry.  While  the  as- 
sociation has  encouraged  its  members  to  insure  their  em- 
ployees, it  has  not  undertaken  the  insurance  itself.  Old-age 
pensions,"'  and  other  kindred  subjects  have  also  been  dis- 
cussed from  time  to  time. 

The  basis  of  membership  in  the  association  has  already 
lieen  described.  Except  for  the  restrictions  placed  upon 
admission,  a  constant  campaign  is  being  waged  to  secure  new 
members.  At  present  the  association  represents  845  presses 
out  of  approximately  1800  in  the  country.  The  member- 
ship, number  of  presses,  and  number  of  employees  by  years 
are  as  follows : 

Year  Number  of  members'^      Number  of  presses      Number  of  employees 

1907 112  751"  4415*= 

1908 112  .  .  .  <1  d 

1909 116  ...d  d 

I9IO 117  732  e  4307  c 

1911 118  720*  4233<= 

I9I2 122  ...  ^  ^ 

1913 117  8soe  S005« 

1914 122  850 »»  5005 1 

1915 121  845J  4868c 

^  All  years  except  1915  as  of  April  i ;  in  1915,  January  16. 

*>  Record  for  April.  ' 

c  Estimate  based  on  ratio  of  presses  to  workmen  in  1914. 

^  No  record. 

«  Record  for  May. 

*  Probably  April. 

s  Record  for  July. 

^  Estimate,  based  on  years  1913  and  1915. 

i  Probably  about  July  i. 

J  Record  for  January  2. 

^National  Lithographer,  May,  1910,  p.  11. 
'  General  letter  no.  687,  passim. 
^  General  letter  no.  783,  passim. 


529]  MAINTENANCE  OF  OPEN  SHOP  113 

Two  employment  bureaus  are  maintained  by  the  associa- 
tion :  one  at  New  York  and  the  other  at  Chicago.  The  duties 
of  these  employment  bureaus  are  defined  as  follows  : 

Each  bureau  shall  keep  a  full  and  accurate  record  on  card 
indexes  of  every  lithographic  workman  employed  by  the  mem- 
bers of  this  corporation  and,  in  so  far  as  possible,  of  every 
lithographic  workman  within  the  jurisdiction  of  this  corpora- 
tion. The  word  workman  as  used  in  these  rules  shall  be  held 
to  mean  all  journeymen  and  apprentices  of  the  classes  known 
as  designers,  poster  artists,  commercial  artists,  engravers, 
provers,  transferrers,  pressmen,  feeders,  stone  and  plate  pre- 
parers, cutters  and  embossers.  Each  bureau  shall  daily  trans- 
mit to  the  other  bureau  reports  of  all  information  and  data 
received  during  the  status  of  workmen  within  its  juirsdiction. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  each  bureau  to  supply,  as  far  as 
practicable,  lithographic  help  to  the  members  within  its  juris- 
diction or  to  aid  the  other  bureau  in  securing  help  for  mem- 
bers within  its  jurisdiction. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  manager  of  each  Employment 
Bureau  to  call  the  attention  of  any  member  violating  the  em- 
ployment Rules  to  such  a  violation,  and  in  case  the  member 
shall  not  immediately  rectify  the  fault,  then  such  manager 
shall  report  the  same  to  the  Committee  on  Employment 
Bureaus.^ 

Whenever  a  member  engages  a  new  employee,  the  name, 
address,  rate  of  wages,  and  department  of  labor  are  sent  to 
the  employment  bureau.  When  a  workman  leaves  the  em- 
ploy of  a  member,  the  name,  department  of  labor,  rate  of 
wages,  and  reasons  for  leaving  are  sent  to  the  bureau. 
When  the  wages  of  the  employee  are  increased  or  decreased, 
the  name,  address,  former  rate  of  wages,  present  rate,  and 
department  of  labor  are  forwarded  to  the  bureau.     In  each 

1  Rules  governing  employment  bureaus:  article  II.,  section  i. 


114  THE  LirilOCRAl'lilC  INDUSTRY  [530 

of  the  above  cases  the  information  is  sent  on  the  day  the 
change  is  made.  Whenever  called  upon  to  do  so,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  association  forward  to  the  employment  bureaus 
complete  rosters  of  their  employees,  gpiving  names,  depart- 
ment of  labor,  wages  per  week,  and  addresses  of  employees, 
classified  into  groups  of  foremen,  journeymen,  apprentices, 
and  helpers. 

In  the  emplo>TTient  of  confidential  help,  the  following 
resolution,  adopted  by  the  board  of  directors  on  May  20, 
1 91 2,  governs: 

Whereas,  the  employment  by  one  member  of  the  confiden- 
tial office  employee,  superintendent,  foreman,  or  executive 
head  of  another  member,  without  previous  notification  of  the 
intention  so  to  employ,  and  the  non-listing  of  such  employee 
with  the  Employment  Bureaus,  frequently  leads  to  misunder- 
standing; it  is 

Resolved,  That  in  the  judgment  of  this  Board  the  members 
of  the  Association  shall,  previous  to  employing  such  confiden- 
tial office  employee,  superintendent,  foreman,  or  executive 
head,  enquire  of  the  Employment  Bureaus  whether  listed  or 
not,  and  if  listed  notify  the  member  to  be  aflfected  of  the  in- 
tention so  to  employ  at  a  date  not  less  than  thirty  days  subse- 
quent to  the  date  of  such  notification.^ 

No  aid  is  given  to  non-members  of  the  association  by  the 
employment  bureaus  without  the  consent  of  the  executive 
committee  of  the  association.^ 

The  activities  of  these  bureaus  in  securing  workmen  for 
the  members  of  the  association  are  indicated  in  the  follow- 
ing tables : 

1  Constitution  and  rules  of  the  association,  p.  17. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  18.     By  resolution  adopted  June  12,  1908. 


531  ]                   MAINTENANCE  OF  OPEN  SHOP  jjc 

Eastern  Employment  Bureau 

Year  ending          Number  of                    Applications  Positions 

April  30                  men  listed                 for  employment »  Ulled 

igo6 880                                   8  ....» 

1907 843                                 28  b 

1908 873                                   36  . . . .  b 

1909 IOS5                                   IS  . . .  > 

1910 1325                                 171  1262 

1911  1474                                190  nil 

1912 1476                               212  931 

1913 1651                                271  915 

1914 1832                                846  d  824 

1915 c                               602  e  5476 

"  There  is  no  complete  record  of  vacancies  for  which  men  were  needed. 

^  No  record. 

<^  See  second  table  following. 

^  Including  some  duplications  in  second  half  of  year. 

e  From  May  i,  1914,  to  January  23,  1915. 

Western  Employment  Bureau 

Year  ending          Number  of                    Applications  Positions 

April  30                  men  listed                 for  employment  *  Ulled 

1906 539                                   14  ...}> 

1907 550                                    9  •  ■  •  * 

1908 562                                    2  . . .  b 

1909 666                                   4  . . .  b 

1910 856                                 60  317 

191 1  1008                               391  <=  469 

1912 1160                               532c  605 

1913 1282                                527  c  879 

1914 1633                                725  *=  684 

1915  ^                             507*^*  547* 

*  There  is  no  complete  record  of  vacancies  for  which  men  were  needed. 

b  No  record. 

'^  Includes  some  duplicates. 

^  See  second  table  following. 

*From  May  i,  1914,  to  January  23.  1915. 

The  number  of  workmen  listed  in  these  bureaus  at  the 
present  time  is  indicated  in  the  following  tables : 


ii6 


THE  LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY 


[532 


Eastern  Employment  Bureau 
Del>artnicnt  Journeymen 

Artists 311 

Engravers 100 

Designers 1 1 

Transferrers  297 

Provers 70 

Pressmen  298 

Feeders 261 

Cutters 81 

Stone  preparers  98 

Embossers  24 

Helpers 44 

Total 1595 

Western  Employment  Bureau 
Department  Journeymen 

Artists 265 

Engravers 146 

Designers 20 

Pressmen  244 

Transferrers  233 

Provers 18 

Cutters 40 

Joggers  4 

Stone  preparers  66 

Feeders 138 

Embossers  5 

Helpers 157 

Total 1336 


Foremen 

IS 

8 

I 
17 

4 
37 

5 

I 

4 


92 


Foremen 
26 
16 

28 

35 
I 
I 


107 


The  employment  bureaus  are  primarily  places  of  record 
of  all  employees  of  members  of  the  association.  Through 
these  records  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  select  the  class  of  men 
desired  by  any  member,  discriminating  against  union  mem- 
bers if  the  employer  so  desires.  In  spite  of  its  open  shop 
declarations,  the  association  lends  its  aid  to  employers  who 
wish  to  maintain  non-union  shop. 

These  bureaus  also  serve  as  a  check  against  members  who 


533]  MAINTENANCE  OF  OPEN  SHOP  ny 

violate  the  rules  of  the  association.  For  example,  records 
of  wages  and  the  statements  of  wages  paid  to  a  new  employee 
are  used  to  enforce  the  association  rule  against  hiring  a  man 
at  a  higher  wage  than  he  has  been  receiving  in  another  shop. 
The  record  of  increases  and  decreases  of  wages  granted  by 
the  members  of  the  association  is  as  follows : 

Changes  in  Wages  since  1910 
Year  Eastern  Bureau  Western  Bureau 

ending  Increases         Decreases  Increases  Decreases 

April  30        Jour.     App.     Jour.    App.        Jour.        App.      Jour.     App. 

1910 221  164  10  I  227  70  5  o 

1911  280  181  4  o  147  59  7  3 

1912 268  221  6  o  174  98  8  I 

1913 340  262  8  2  500  261  IS  6 

1914 413  263  5  o  314  136  4  I 

Finally,  the  employment  bureaus  are  used  as  agencies  for 
the  enforcement  of  the  apprenticeship  rules  of  the  associa- 
tion. Rule  nine  of  the  shop  rules  of  the  association  pro- 
vides for  the  government  of  apprentices.  This  rule  covers 
indenture,  ratio  of  apprentices  to  journeymen  in  each  branch 
of  the  industry,  and  penalty  for  violation  of  the  rule. 

By  May,  1908,  the  apprenticeship  rules  of  the  association 
had  produced  a  marked  change  in  the  industry  so  that  the 
ratio  of  apprentices  to  journeymen  was  as  follows  :  ^ 

Department  Ratio  of  apprentices  to  journeymen 

Designers i  to  lOj^ 

Poster  artists i  to  7]/^ 

Commercial  artists i  to  2^/^^ 

Engravers I  to  2^/^^ 

Provers i  to  2j^ 

Transferrers  i  to  i  J4 

Pressmen   i  to  2]/^ 

Feeders  i  to  45^ 

Stone  and  plate  preparers i  to  21  ^/^^ 

Cutters I  to  7^/^^ 

Embossers i  to  8>i 

Total 1  to  3K 

1  General  letter  no.  354. 


I  iS  THE  LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [534 

It  will  be  seen  that  especially  in  the  trades  formerly  con- 
trolled by  the  L.  I.  P.  and  B.  A.,  namely  the  engravers, 
provers,  transferrers,  and  pressmen,  the  ratio  is  much  lower 
than  that  which  obtained  in  1904.  The  above  ratios  have 
been  reduced  since  these  statistics  were  compiled.  In  gen- 
eral the  members  of  the  association  have  observed  the  ap- 
prenticeship rules,  though  in  some  cases  it  has  taken  constant 
effort  on  the  part  of  the  officers  of  the  association  to  insure 
the  continuance  of  the  full  complement  of  apprentices  al- 
lotted to  a  shop.  Occasionally  reminders  are  sent  to  the 
members  concerning  the  employment  of  apprentices  and  the 
necessity  for  living  up  to  the  rules  of  the  association  in  this 
respect.  For  example,  the  following  general  letter,  quoted 
here  in  part,  was  sent  out  over  the  signature  of  the  president 
of  the  association  on  November  7,  191 3  : 

The  secret  of  Industrial  Peace  in  any  trade  is  a  proper  bal- 
ance between  the  demand  for,  and  the  supply  of,  competent 
and  skilled  workmen. 

Whenever  the  number  of  workmen  is  utterly  deficient  to 
supply  the  needs  of  any  trade,  with  a  union  or  without  a  union, 
wages  will  necessarily  rise.  .  .  .  Whenever  the  workmen  of 
any  trade  are  too  numerous  .  .  .  wages  will  necessarily  fall. 
...  If  the  shortage  is  excessive,  wages  will  become  unreason- 
ably high.  If  the  surplus  is  great,  wages  will  become  un- 
justly low. 

These  things  are  true  whether  there  be  a  union  or  an  or- 
ganization of  employers,  or  whether  there  be  none  of  such 
things.  If  there  be  a  union,  the  tendency  of  wages  to  rise 
under  a  situation  involving  a  shortage  of  workmen  will  be 
quickened  and  stimulated.  The  existence  of  the  union  merely 
expedites  the  result. 

The  success  of  any  union's  efforts  to  be  unfair  or  unjust 
depends  absolutely  upon  a  shortage  of  workmen.  .  .  . 

No  strike  ever  succeeded  where  there  were  more  workmen 
than  necessary  to   fill  the  vacant  positions,   except  perhaps 


535]  MAINTENANCE  OF  OPEN  SHOP  n^ 

under  unusual  conditions,  where  the  general  public  was  inter- 
ested and  manifested  its  interest. 

Proper  shop  management  and  discipline  depend  likewise 
upon  a  proper  balance  between  the  number  of  positions  and 
the  number  of  workmen  to  fill  the  positions.  .  .  . 

To  my  mind,  therefore,  the  important,  and  the  vital  work 
which  we  are  doing,  is  the  training  of  apprentices.  The  great- 
ness of  that  work  overshadows  all  else.  .  .  . 

Self  preservation  is  the  first  law  of  nature,  it  is  said.  Rules 
and  regulations,  whether  they  be  the  rules  and  regulations  of 
the  union  or  those  of  an  employers'  association,  are  of  little 
sanctity  when  the  employer  is  absolutely  forced  to  obtain  a 
man  to  fill  a  position  that  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  fill,  or 
where  a  workman  must  secure  a  position  in  order  to  procure 
the  necessaries  of  life.  All  other  conditions,  and  the  obliga- 
tions to  any  employers'  association  or  to  a  union,  become  of 
secondary  importance  under  such  considerations.^ 

In  an  attempt  to  supplement  the  training  of  apprentices 
in  the  shops,  schools  for  the  instruction  of  youth  wishing 
to  enter  the  industry  have  been  established,  first  at  the 
Winona  Technical  Institute  at  Indianapolis,  and  later  at  the 
Ohio  Mechanics'  Institute  in  Cincinnati.  The  latter  is  now 
being  given  all  possible  encouragement  by  the  association 
and  it  is  supported  by  contributions  from  members  of  the 
association  and  a  few  outside  employers. 

On  January  5,  19 14,  what  is  known  as  the  Lithographic 
Transferrers'  Finishing  School  was  opened  at  the  Murray 
Hill  School  in  New  York  City.  This  is  conducted  as  a 
part  of  New  lYork  City's  system  of  night  schools.  Presses, 
stones,  plates,  ink,  etc.  are  furnished  by  employers  or  by 
supply  houses  and  the  Board  of  Education  furnishes  the 
room,  heated  and  lighted,  pays  the  instructor,  and  furnishes 
accessories.    This  is  meant  to  be  an  experiment  in  the  teach- 

1  General  letter  no.  828. 


I20  THE  LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [536 

ing  of  working  apprentices  general  information  about  their 
trade  which  they  could  not  obtain  during  the  working  hours 
under  the  present  system  of  training  apprentices.  As  such, 
it  is  considered  a  success. 

As  indicated  in  the  letter  quoted  above,  the  key  to  the 
labor  policy  of  the  association  is  the  apprenticeship  system. 
The  association  tries,  through  schools,  text-books,^  and  other 
means  of  education,  to  relieve  the  employer  of  the  necessity 
for  giving  so  much  time  to  the  training  of  apprentices  in  his 
own  shop  and  during  working  hours.  At  the  same  time, 
because  there  has  not  yet  been  perfected  any  system  of 
relieving  the  employer,  his  foremen,  and  his  journeymen 
from  the  drudgery  of  training  apprentices,  the  association 
insists  that  the  employer  continue  to  use  his  workshop  as  a 
school  for  the  instruction  of  the  future  workmen  in  the 
industry. 

Throughout  its  labor  policy,  the  association  is  a  stabilizing 
influence  in  the  lithographic  industry.  Of  course  it  is  parti- 
san, but  at  the  same  time  it  is  managed  by  men  who  are  keen 
students  of  the  mechanics  of  wage  bargaining;  men  who 
do  not  hesitate  to  pursue  a  policy  which  does  not  always  re- 
ceive the  unanimous  approbation  of  the  members  of  the 
association.  In  this  manner  they  sometimes  bring  upon 
themselves  the  criticism  of  some  of  their  constituents.  Yet 
the  farsightedness  which  prompts  the  policy  of  the  associa- 
tion is  the  influence  which  has  saved  these  very  members 
from  the  consequences  of  their  own  shortsightedness. 

Organized  as  it  is,  the  association  plays  aggressive  labor 
against  dictatorial  capital.  The  former  is  easily  dealt  with 
tmder  existing  conditions.     The  fear  of  the  blacklist  is  suf- 

^  Cf.  Browne,  op.  cit.  Mr.  Browne  is  editor  of  the  National  Lith- 
ographer, an  independent  trade  paper.  Much  of  the  space  in  this  pub- 
lication is  given  over  to  educational  subjects. 


537]  MAINTENANCE  OF  OPEN  SHOP  121 

ficient  to  temper  the  radicalism  of  the  trouble-making  labor 
leader  and  agitator  who  depends  upon  wages  at  his  trade 
for  a  livelihood.  The  ghost  of  unionism  is  used  to  coerce 
the  employer  into  maintaining  his  quota  of  apprentices, 
granting  concessions  to  his  workmen,  and  in  other  ways  in- 
suring the  continuance  of  his  supremacy  in  wage  bargain- 
ing in  the  lithographic  industry. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
Conclusion 

It  is  not  possible  to  measure  exactly  the  effects  of  open 
shop  upon  wages  and  working  conditions  in  the  lithographic 
industry.  However,  both  employers  and  workmen  admit 
that  the  latter  are  now  turning  out  a  greater  product  in  a 
unit  of  time  than  they  did  before  open  shop  was  established. 
Furthermore,  in  the  lithographic  establishments  of  New 
York  City,  for  example,  the  hourly  rates  of  wages  have  ad- 
vanced less  since  open  shop  was  established  than  have  the 
rates  in  printing  establishments  where  unions  are  still  strong 
and  where  collective  bargaining  is  still  practiced. 

Whether  the  unions  can  ever  again  obtain  recognition 
from  the  employers  in  the  lithographic  industry  is  an  open 
question.  On  the  one  hand,  there  is  no  evidence  that  the 
employers  are  willing  to  relinquish  any  of  the  advantages 
which  their  association  has  gained  for  them.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  unions  are  taking  steps  to  increase  their  bargain- 
ing power. 

Since  the  strike  socialism  has  been  a  favorite  topic  of 
discussion  in  the  forums  of  the  unions.  Some  members 
have  joined  the  ranks  of  the  Industrial  Workers  of  the 
World.  In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  the  members  of 
those  unions  against  which  "  open  shop  "  was  declared  in 
1906  are  now  convinced  of  the  necessity  for  greater  cen- 
tralization of  power  among  the  wage  earners  in  their  in- 
dustry. Both  federation  and  amalgamation  have  been  much 
discussed  since  the  strike.  By  19 14,  this  discussion  had  as- 
sumed the  form  of  definite  plans  and  the  sentiment  in 
122  [538 


539]  CONCLUSION  123 

favor  of  closer  unity  of  action  had  become  strong  enough 
to  force  a  decision  as  to  which  plan  should  be  accepted. 

The  Poster  Artists'  Association  and  the  Press  Feeders' 
Union  contended  for  an  alliance  similar  to  the  one  formed 
in  1904.  This  proposal  was  rejected  by  the  other  unions 
whose  members  voted  to  form  an  industrial  union  under 
the  name  of  Amalgamated  Lithographers  of  America/  This 
new  union  claims  jurisdiction  over  commercial  artists, 
poster  artists,  engravers,  designers,  transferrers,  provers, 
pressmen,  press  feeders,  stone  and  plate  preparers,  "  and 
such  other  kindred  Branches  of  the  trade  as  necessity  and 
referendum  may  decide."  ^ 

Both  the  Poster  Artists'  Association  and  the  Press  Feed- 
ers' Union  have  refused  to  join  forces  with  the  new  or- 
ganization and  become  part  of  it.  In  the  poster  printing 
establishments,  the  only  workmen,  other  than  the  poster  art- 
ists themselves,  who  are  indispensable  to  the  operation  of  the 
plant,  are  the  pressmen,  the  press  feeders,  and  the  stone  and 
plate  preparers.  The  Press  Feeders'  Union  can  supply  press 
feeders  and  even  pressmen.  As  noted  above,^  stone  and 
plate  preparers  can  be  replaced  with  little  difficulty.  Hence 
as  long  as  the  Poster  Artists'  Association  can  cooperate  with 
the  Press  Feeders'  Union,  it  can  insure  its  employers  against 
strikes.  The  poster  artists  constitute  only  about  five  per 
cent  of  the  workmen  employed  in  the  lithographic  industry. 
Hence  their  lack  of  numbers  would  probably  prevent  them 
from  securing,  through  the  new  industrial  union,  any  ad- 
vantages which  they  do  not  now  possess,  especially  since 
their  present  wages  and  working  conditions  are  far  more 
satisfactory  than  those  of  the  workmen  in  any  other  branch 
of  the  industry. 

1  The   Graphic  Journal    (official    organ    of    the   commercial    artists) 
November,  1914,  p.  3. 

2  Constitution,  article  II,  section  2.  '  Cf.  p.  5,  supra. 


124  THE  LITHOGRAPHIC  INDUSTRY  [540 

The  reasons  why  the  press  feeders  refuse  to  join  the  new 
union  are  not  quite  so  clear.  Undoubtedly  the  feeders 
have  been  tactlessly  dealt  with  in  the  past  by  some  of  the 
other  branches  of  the  industry.  This  the  new  union  admits 
and  promises  to  correct.^  Since  the  press  feeders  are  in- 
terested not  only  in  the  few  poster-printing  shops  but  also 
in  the  many  commercial  and  black  and  white  shops,  it  ap- 
pears that  the  feeders'  refusal  to  join  the  new  union  can 
result  only  in  antagonism  between  the  two  organizations  and 
in  a  consequent  weakening  of  the  bargaining  power  of  both. 
In  fact,  the  Press  Feeders'  Union  has  recently  changed  its 
name  to  International  Lithographic  Protective  Association 
and  has  announced  its  intention  of  contesting  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Amalgamated  Lithographers  of  America. 

The  continuance  of  the  advantages  now  enjoyed  by  the 
Poster  Artists'  Association  and  those  members  of  the  Press 
Feeders'  Union  who  reap  advantages  by  refusing  to  join 
the  new  union,  will  depend  upon  the  success  of  the  plans  of 
the  latter.  As  already  noted,  it  claims  jurisdiction  over  all 
branches  of  the  lithographic  industry.  Its  leaders  have  an- 
nounced that  it  is  not  the 

intention  of  the  Amalgamated  Association  immediately  after 
it  is  put  into  operation,  to  throw  down  the  gauntlet  to  the 
organized  Poster  Artists  and  Feeders,  nor  is  it  the  intention 
.  .  .  that  the  members  of  the  new  organization  are  to  be  in- 
structed to  refuse  to  work  with  non-members.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  and  expected  that  in  the  course  of  time  both  the  craft 
organizations  of  Poster  Artists  and  Feeders  will  recognize  the 
necessity  and  desirability  of  becoming  a  part  of  our  progres- 
sive movement,  and  that  they  will  do  so  voluntarily  and  with- 
out coercion. - 

1  Lithographers'  Journal  (official  organ  of  the  Amalgamated  Litho- 
graphers of  America),  June,  1915,  p.  6. 

'  The  Graphic  Journal,  November,  1914,  p.  i. 


541  ]  CONCLUSION  125 

It  is  quite  evident  however,  that  the  new  union  plans  to 
use  coercion,  if  necessary,  to  force  the  two  craft  unions  to 
become  a  part  of  it.^ 

As  organized  at  present,  the  above  unions  constitute 
competing  rather  than  cooperating  organizations.  On  the 
one  hand,  the  Amalgamated  Lithographers  of  America  claim 
jurisdiction  over  the  entire  industry.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  combination  of  Poster  Artists'  Association  and  Press 
Feeders'  Union  practically  dispute  the  entire  jurisdictional 
claims  of  the  Amalgamated  Association.  More  recently  a 
third  combination  of  unions  has  entered  the  jurisdictional 
disputes  in  the  industry  and  consequently  has  further  weak- 
ened the  bargaining  power  of  all  unions,  at  least  temporarily. 

With  the  introduction  of  the  offset  press,  the  dividing 
line  between  lithography  and  printing  became  less  distinct 
and  jurisdictional  disputes  over  the  control  of  offset  work 
developed.  At  present  the  International  Printing  Pressmen 
and  Assistants'  Union  claims  jurisdiction  over  the  press 
work,  while  the  International  Photo-Engravers'  Union 
claims  jurisdiction  over  all  other  branches  of  offset  printing. 
These  two  claims  are  supported  by  the  allied  printing  trades 
unions. 

Contrary  to  the  policies  of  the  unions  in  1904,  the  new 
industrial  union  of  Amalgamated  Lithographers  of  America 
heartily  endorses  the  principles  of  trade  agreements  and 
the  settlement  of  labor  disputes  by  arbitration.  These  two 
subjects  are  much  discussed  within  the  unions  and  in  their 
publications.  In  order  to  get  action  upon  the  matter  if 
possible,  the  Boston  local,  in  September,  191 5,  sent  out  the 
following  resolutions  to  all  other  locals  of  the  national 
union : 

Whereas,  the  Lithographic  industry  being  one  of  the  small- 
1  Lithographers'  Journal,  passim. 


126  T^/ZH  UrilOCRAI'lllC  IXDUSTRY  [542 

fst  iiKlustrics  of  the  United  Stales  and  employing  the  smallest 
number  of  skilled  workmen,  there  being  only  about  7000  in 
its  various  branches,  that  fact  alone  should  teach  us  that  any 
serious  labor  trouble  will  seriously  and  permanently  injure  the 
lithographic  industry ;  and 

Whereas,  the  present  attitude  of  the  organized  employers 
and  organized  employees  is  antagonistic  and  one  of  distrust, 
and  whereas  it  is  a  true  saying,  "A  house  divided  against 
itself  shall  fall,"  and  as  Lithography  has  to  compete  with 
other  processes,  and  wnth  cheap  labor  in  Europe,  it  is  essen- 
tial for  the  future  welfare  of  Lithography  that  the  employers 
and  the  employees  work  in  harmony,  and  for  the  present  and 
future  good  of  the  trade ;  and 

Whereas,  government  investigation  has  shown  that  over  ^ 
of  the  manufacturers  of  the  United  States  are  in  favor  of 
trade  agreements  and  the  settlement  of  all  labor  disputes  by 
arbitration  and  the  elimination  of  all  strikes  and  lockouts, 

Be  it  resolved  by  the  Boston  section,  Amalgamated  Litho- 
graphers of  America,  that  strikes  and  lockouts  are  senseless 
and  w'astef ul  alike  to  lx)th  capital  and  labor ;  that  such  methods 
drive  into  other  branches  of  the  printers'  art  part  of  the  trade 
so  hard  to  obtain  and  retain  under  the  most  favorable  con- 
ditions. 

Be  it  resolved  that  we  request  the  National  Officers  of  the 
Amalgamated  Lithographers  of  America  at  an  early  date,  to 
ask  for  a  conference  with  the  Employers'  Association,  with 
the  object  in  view  of  a  trade  agreement  and  arbitration  of  all 
labor  differences.^ 

The  "  Boston  Resolutions  "  have  been  thoroughly  dis- 
cussed by  the  other  locals  of  the  Amalgamated  Association 
and  have  received  the  almost  unanimous  approval  of  the 
members  of  the  entire  national  union.  W^hether  or  not  the 
National  Association  of  Employing  Lithographers  will  give 
the  request  for  an  agreement  a  sympathetic  hearing,  and 

1  National  Lithographer,  March.  1916,  p.  38. 


^43]  CONCLUSION  127 

whether  the  union  will  be  strong  enough  to  force  an  agree- 
ment from  the  employers  in  case  their  request  is  denied,  are 
questions  which  future  developments  in  the  industry  must 
settle. 

With  the  history  of  the  past  before  us,  it  is  easy  to  point 
out  mistakes  made  by  both  capital  and  labor  in  the  process 
of  wage  bargaining  in  the  lithographic  industry.  Given 
the  opportunity,  perhaps  we  think  we  could  have  avoided  the 
consequences  of  these  mistakes  by  taking  another  course  than 
the  one  that  was  followed.  Such  speculation  about  what 
might  have  been  is  interesting  at  least.  But  more  important 
is  the  bearing  of  this  study  upon  the  underlying  principles 
of  wage  bargaining. 

Unionism  preceded  the  organization  of  employers  in  the 
lithographic  industry.  Up  to  the  time  the  unions  presented 
their  first  demands  to  their  unorganized  employers,  there  was 
in  operation  a  system  of  wage  determination  which  is  some- 
times called  individual  bargaining  in  contradistinction  to 
collective  bargaining.  Yet  before  collective  bargaining  was 
tried,  the  hours  of  labor,  for  example,  in  a  given  labor  mar- 
ket in  the  industry  had  been  standardized  and  were  no  longer 
subject  to  individual  "  higgling  of  the  market  "  between  the 
employer  and  each  of  his  employees. 

In  other  words,  lithography  had  reached  the  stage  where 
labor  conditions  were  standardized  by  custom.  In  this  stage 
the  individual  workman  either  accepted  the  conditions  of- 
fered him  or  ceased  to  be  an  applicant  for  the  job.  What- 
ever bargaining  there  was,  meaning  by  this  term  the  process 
of  offer  and  demand  and  final  compromise,  concerned  only 
those  details  of  the  labor  contract,  such  as  the  amount  of 
differential  from  the  standard  wage  rate,  which  remained 
more  or  less  subject  to  individual  determination  under  all 
forms  of  labor  contract  ever  tried  in  the  industry. 


128  THE  LITJIOGRAPIIIC  INDUSTRY  [544 

Under  this  system  of  wage  determination,  the  labor  mar- 
ket in  the  Hthographic  industry  was  more  or  less  open. 
The  bargaining  power  of  both  labor  and  capital  depended 
upon  their  knowledge  of  the  conditions  of  the  labor  market. 

Labor  gained  advantages  through  organization  by  placing 
restrictions  upon  the  choices  to  be  exercised  by  capital : 
through  closed  union  shop,  by  forcing  the  employer  to  hire 
union  men  at  union  terms;  through  apprenticeship  regula- 
tions, by  decreasing  the  supply  of  workmen  available  for  a 
given  job;  through  limitation  upon  output,  by  increasing 
the  demand  for  workmen  to  produce  a  given  product. 

In  1904  even  the  statistics  collected  by  the  unions  showed 
that  their  apprenticeship  regulations  were  so  strict  that  the 
industry  could  not  meet  the  demands  placed  upon  it  except 
by  an  unusually  large  amount  of  overtime.  The  system 
practiced  by  the  unions  at  that  time  provided  both  abnorm- 
ally high  wages  and  insurance  against  unemployment. 

During  the  years  from  1902  to  1904  the  employers'  ap- 
peals for  justice  were  simply  their  means  of  expressing  their 
selfish  desire  for  an  equalization  of  bargaining  power.  The 
repeated  refusals  of  the  unions  to  grant  their  employers'  re- 
quests for  mutual  government  demonstrated  their  superior 
strength  when  opposed  only  by  unorganized  or  at  least  only 
partly  organized  capital. 

Recognition  was  granted  to  the  employers'  association 
by  the  unions  only  when  the  latter  began  to  fear  the  grow- 
ing power  of  the  former.  Mutual  government  was  accepted 
in  preference  to  open  conflict  whose  result  could  not  be  fore- 
seen ;  the  principle  was  rejected  as  soon  as  the  unions  ceased 
to  fear  the  employers'  organization. 

The  struggle  which  followed  demonstrated  the  inability 
of  the  unions  in  the  industry,  unaided  by  the  boycott  and 
the  sympathetic  strike,  to  return  victorious  from  a  contest 
w^ith  a  single,  strong  association  of  employers,  whose  weapon 


545]  CONCLUSION  1 29 

was  the  blacklist,  and  which  had  back  of  it  the  united 
strength  of  organized  capital. 

The  employers,  in  turn,  counterbalanced  the  advantages 
formerly  enjoyed  by  the  unions :  by  introducing  the  closed 
non-union  shop  and  by  dictating  the  terms  of  employment 
therein;  by  increasing  the  supply  of  labor  through  an  en- 
largement of  the  number  of  apprentices ;  ar^d  by  decreasing 
the  demand  for  laborers  through  the  removal  of  the  restric- 
tions upon  output. 

At  the  present  time,  the  tables  are  turned  and  the  unions 
are  appealing  for  justice.  Even  the  language  which  they 
use  in  expressing  their  faith  in  trade  agreements  and  in 
arbitration  is  strikingly  like  that  used  by  the  employers  a 
dozen  years  ago.  This  identity  of  expression  is  matched 
in  the  identity  of  the  purpose  of  these  appeals — the  selfish 
desire  for  an  equalization  of  bargaining  power. 

In  the  history  of  the  labor  contract  in  the  lithographic 
industry,  we  have  noted  four  stages  in  the  method  of  wage 
determination:  i.  by  custom;  2.  by  union  dictation;  3.  by 
mutual  agreement  between  unions  and  employers ;  and  4.  by 
dictation  by  an  employers'  association.  In  each  stage  most 
of  the  terms  of  the  labor  contract  were  standardized;  and 
in  every  stage  some  of  its  terms,  especially  the  differentials 
from  the  standard  wage  rate,  varied  according  to  the  differ- 
ent capacities  of  individual  workmen. 

In  the  first  stage,  the  advantage  was  with  the  individual 
who  best  read  labor  market  conditions;  in  the  second,  the 
advantage  was  with  the  union;  in  the  third  it  was  approxi- 
mately equalized ;  and  in  the  fourth,  the  employers  have  had 
the  advantage,  though  the  fear  of  the  revival  of  unionism 
has  prevented  them  from  exercising  it  as  they  might  other- 
wise have  done. 

In  every  stage  of  collective  bargaining  in  the  industry, 
the  balance  of  power  has  rested  temporarily  with  the  party 


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orc 


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[546 


.0  manipulate  the 
lemand  for  labor, 
in  the  industry  in 
.  an  organization 
Sting  such  power 
ry,  is  due  to  the 
union,  in  the  face 
■  the  labor  of  its 


THE  LIBRARY 
mnVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


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